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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. current — of water
  4. current — electric
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. court — of law
  7. club — a group
  8. content — happy
  9. bore — to tire
  10. tear — to rip
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. wind — moving air
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. tear — from crying
  15. club — for golf
  16. bore — to drill
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. court — of a king
  19. court — for sport
  20. content — the amount
  21. tear — from crying
  22. wind — moving air
  23. current — happening now
  24. racket — a loud noise

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