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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  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 law
  2. board — a committee
  3. current — electric
  4. spring — the season
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. current — of water
  7. spring — a coil
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. current — happening now
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. court — of a king
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. clip — for paper
  15. clip — to cut
  16. kick — in football
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. board — to get on
  19. sharp — clever
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. spring — of water
  22. clip — a video
  23. arm — part of the body
  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