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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 116 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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. court — for sport
  3. ball — a dance
  4. court — of a king
  5. last — final
  6. lean — to bend
  7. ball — a great time
  8. race — a contest
  9. current — electric
  10. last — to go on
  11. current — of water
  12. branch — of a bank
  13. branch — a division
  14. object — an aim
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. last — finally
  17. object — to protest
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. court — of law
  20. race — the arms race
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. lean — thin
  23. object — a thing
  24. race — humankind

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