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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 · squash · march · stick · bowl · court · mug · drill

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. court — for sport
  3. court — of law
  4. squash — to crush
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. swing — music
  7. march — music
  8. mug — to rob
  9. court — of a king
  10. drill — army training
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. march — the month
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. drill — a practice
  15. swing — in golf
  16. drill — the tool
  17. bowl — to roll
  18. march — the month
  19. squash — the sport
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. swing — to play on
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. mug — a face
  24. mug — a cup

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