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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: swing · fork · prune · court · bat · bass · face · wax

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. court — of a king
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. prune — to trim
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. face — part of the head
  9. face — to point toward
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. wax — to grow
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. face — to confront
  14. court — for sport
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bass — low music
  17. fork — a garden tool
  18. swing — in golf
  19. swing — to play on
  20. swing — music
  21. fork — in a road
  22. bass — the fish
  23. prune — to trim
  24. bat — in an idiom

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