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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. kick — in football
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. court — of law
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wake — a trail
  9. court — for sport
  10. wound — an injury
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. current — electric
  17. court — of a king
  18. bound — tied together
  19. sharp — clever
  20. bound — certain
  21. bound — obliged
  22. kick — a thrill
  23. mine — for digging
  24. current — of water

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