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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 120 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: court · fan · last · stem · fork · swing · stick · ground

  1. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  16. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. last — finally
  3. swing — in golf
  4. court — of law
  5. ground — crushed
  6. fork — in a road
  7. swing — music
  8. swing — to play on
  9. ground — a position
  10. court — for sport
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. last — final
  16. stem — to come from
  17. last — to go on
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. ground — the earth
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. court — of a king

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