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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. current — of water
  3. court — of law
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. stock — goods
  7. pass — a permit
  8. net — for catching
  9. current — happening now
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. mate — a partner
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. current — electric
  14. court — of a king
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. net — after costs
  17. mate — to breed
  18. net — in sport
  19. rule — a law
  20. court — for sport
  21. rule — government
  22. stock — shares
  23. mate — a friend
  24. racket — for tennis

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