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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: swing · dip · staff · field · net · kick · jam · court

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  10. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. court — of a king
  3. staff — employees
  4. field — farmland
  5. swing — to play on
  6. net — after costs
  7. net — in sport
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. kick — a thrill
  10. jam — in traffic
  11. court — of law
  12. swing — in golf
  13. swing — music
  14. court — for sport
  15. jam — to spread on bread
  16. field — for sport
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. staff — employees
  19. field — a subject
  20. staff — a stick
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. dip — to sink
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. net — for catching

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com