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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: last · court · stem · pass · date · racket · kid · swing

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. court — of law
  3. kid — child
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. stem — to come from
  6. pass — a permit
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. last — to go on
  9. court — of a king
  10. stem — of a plant
  11. swing — in golf
  12. date — the fruit
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. court — for sport
  15. last — finally
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. kid — to tease
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. swing — music
  22. swing — to play on
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. pass — to succeed

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