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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: kid · deal · court · cell · stick · nail · swing · land

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. land — to come down
  5. cell — a phone
  6. court — for sport
  7. land — ground
  8. cell — in biology
  9. swing — in golf
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. kid — child
  14. court — of a king
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. kid — to tease
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. court — of law
  20. swing — to play on
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. deal — a big deal
  23. swing — music
  24. land — a country

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