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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: ball · march · swing · net · court · game · bore · racket

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. ball — a great time
  4. game — wild animals
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. march — the month
  8. ball — a dance
  9. net — after costs
  10. net — for catching
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. game — a match
  14. swing — in golf
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. court — of a king
  17. swing — music
  18. court — of law
  19. bore — to tire
  20. court — for sport
  21. march — music
  22. bore — to drill
  23. swing — to play on
  24. net — in sport

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