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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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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: march · ground · calf · court · swing · current · pass · key

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. key — for a lock
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. court — of a king
  5. current — of water
  6. court — of law
  7. ground — a position
  8. current — electric
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. march — the month
  11. pass — a permit
  12. march — music
  13. current — happening now
  14. ground — the earth
  15. march — the month
  16. ground — crushed
  17. key — the most important part
  18. key — in music
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. swing — in golf
  21. swing — music
  22. swing — to play on
  23. court — for sport
  24. pass — to spend time

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