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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 116 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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. squash — to crush
  3. board — to get on
  4. net — in sport
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. board — a committee
  7. court — for sport
  8. net — for catching
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. court — of a king
  11. last — finally
  12. last — final
  13. shower — rain
  14. bear — the animal
  15. squash — the sport
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. net — after costs
  19. current — electric
  20. court — of law
  21. last — to go on
  22. bear — the animal
  23. shower — to wash
  24. current — happening now

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