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

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. current — of water
  4. current — electric
  5. kid — to tease
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. tube — a container
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. present — there
  10. present — a gift
  11. tube — the underground
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rest — a break
  15. present — the time now
  16. court — for sport
  17. bat — the animal
  18. pop — music
  19. pop — soda
  20. court — of law
  21. rest — what's left
  22. current — happening now
  23. pop — to visit
  24. kid — child

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