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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 124 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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. bear — the animal
  3. current — electric
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. net — for catching
  6. court — of law
  7. current — of water
  8. capital — a city
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. bear — the animal
  11. sharp — clever
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. chip — to eat
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. chip — for betting
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. net — after costs
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. current — happening now
  22. net — in sport
  23. capital — money
  24. court — for sport

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