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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. court — of law
  5. game — a match
  6. dip — to sink
  7. ground — the earth
  8. ground — crushed
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. band — a music group
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. court — of a king
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. band — a ring
  15. current — happening now
  16. stand — to bear
  17. current — of water
  18. game — wild animals
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. current — electric
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. ground — a position
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. mouse — the animal

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