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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 · tube · court · stock · fork · cold · craft · lean

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. cold — not warm
  3. court — of a king
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. court — for sport
  6. lean — thin
  7. fork — in a road
  8. swing — in golf
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. craft — a skill
  12. stock — shares
  13. swing — to play on
  14. craft — boats
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. lean — to bend
  18. tube — the underground
  19. court — of law
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. stock — goods
  22. tube — a container
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. cold — an illness

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