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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: lean · sharp · swing · squash · rock · court · net · march

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. net — in sport
  4. sharp — clever
  5. swing — to play on
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. net — after costs
  8. net — for catching
  9. rock — music
  10. court — of law
  11. court — for sport
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. swing — music
  14. march — the month
  15. court — of a king
  16. lean — to bend
  17. rock — a stone
  18. squash — to crush
  19. swing — in golf
  20. lean — thin
  21. squash — the sport
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. march — the month
  24. march — music

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