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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. squash — the sport
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. wind — moving air
  6. hand — help
  7. court — for sport
  8. rock — a stone
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. current — electric
  11. current — happening now
  12. ball — a dance
  13. rock — music
  14. court — of law
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. wind — moving air
  18. clip — for paper
  19. clip — to cut
  20. squash — to crush
  21. current — of water
  22. ball — a great time
  23. court — of a king
  24. clip — a video

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