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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mate — a partner
  4. court — of law
  5. capital — money
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. current — electric
  8. current — happening now
  9. degree — temperature
  10. court — of a king
  11. mate — a friend
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. board — to get on
  15. stand — to bear
  16. capital — a city
  17. board — a committee
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. mate — to breed
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. current — of water
  22. degree — an amount
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. degree — from a university

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