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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. wind — moving air
  3. object — an aim
  4. hand — help
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. wind — moving air
  8. object — a thing
  9. current — happening now
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. current — of water
  12. court — for sport
  13. cold — not warm
  14. net — after costs
  15. net — for catching
  16. object — to protest
  17. hand — in cards
  18. cold — an illness
  19. court — of a king
  20. current — electric
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. court — of law

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