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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. bank — for money
  3. current — of water
  4. rash — a series
  5. object — an aim
  6. ball — a great time
  7. object — to protest
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. bank — for money
  10. ball — a dance
  11. object — a thing
  12. spring — the season
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. rash — hasty
  15. spring — of water
  16. court — of a king
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. court — of law
  19. spring — a coil
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. bank — of a river
  22. current — happening now
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. current — electric

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