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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. spell — letters
  3. current — of water
  4. mine — for digging
  5. spell — magic
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. current — electric
  9. rest — a break
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. mug — a face
  13. mug — a cup
  14. court — for sport
  15. current — happening now
  16. mug — to rob
  17. rest — what's left
  18. court — of law
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. game — wild animals
  21. spell — a short time
  22. chair — a leader
  23. rest — what's left
  24. game — a match

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