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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: lean · swing · court · wind · staff · foot · board · march

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. staff — employees
  3. wind — moving air
  4. court — of law
  5. board — to get on
  6. court — for sport
  7. lean — thin
  8. march — music
  9. swing — music
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. staff — employees
  12. board — a committee
  13. foot — a measure
  14. swing — to play on
  15. foot — the bottom
  16. swing — in golf
  17. staff — a stick
  18. march — the month
  19. lean — to bend
  20. wind — moving air
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. court — of a king
  23. march — the month
  24. lean — to rest against

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