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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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. court — of a king
  3. spring — the season
  4. net — for catching
  5. saw — the tool
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. current — happening now
  9. spring — of water
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. court — for sport
  12. saw — the tool
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. spring — a coil
  15. court — of law
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — to tease
  18. current — electric
  19. net — after costs
  20. net — in sport
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. current — of water
  24. pitch — completely

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