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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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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 · fork · season · rock · present · cell · bore · court

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. season — in sport
  5. swing — to play on
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. fork — in a road
  9. rock — music
  10. court — of a king
  11. swing — in golf
  12. court — of law
  13. present — there
  14. cell — in biology
  15. bore — to drill
  16. season — of the year
  17. present — the time now
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. rock — a stone
  20. cell — a phone
  21. present — a gift
  22. bore — to tire
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. court — for sport

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