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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · fork · net · wound · ball · game · racket · rock

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. swing — to play on
  3. ball — a great time
  4. wound — an injury
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. game — wild animals
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. wound — an injury
  12. game — a match
  13. rock — music
  14. swing — in golf
  15. fork — in a road
  16. net — in sport
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. net — for catching
  19. net — after costs
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. rock — a stone
  22. ball — a dance
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. swing — music

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