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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: court · cap · racket · pop · rush · content · spring · stick

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. That must've been a ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. cap — a lid
  5. spring — of water
  6. cap — a hat
  7. content — happy
  8. spring — the season
  9. stick — to attach or keep to
  10. cap — of ice
  11. court — of a king
  12. rush — hurry
  13. court — for sport
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. pop — to visit
  17. rush — a thrill
  18. spring — a coil
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. pop — soda
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. content — the amount
  23. court — of law
  24. racket — for tennis

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