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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 · chest · firm · ball · scale · swing · tube · stock

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. tube — the underground
  3. scale — in music
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. swing — music
  6. swing — to play on
  7. scale — size or range
  8. chest — a box
  9. court — for sport
  10. stock — shares
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. firm — a company
  13. ball — a great time
  14. chest — of your body
  15. firm — decided
  16. stock — goods
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. court — of law
  19. ball — a dance
  20. chest — of your body
  21. court — of a king
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. swing — in golf
  24. tube — a container

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