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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 is in your ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. court — of a king
  3. file — a document
  4. land — a country
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. wound — an injury
  7. pitch — completely
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. current — of water
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. file — a line of people
  13. land — ground
  14. can — a tin
  15. current — electric
  16. can — to be able to
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. current — happening now
  19. can — a tin
  20. land — to come down
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. court — of law
  23. file — a tool
  24. wound — an injury

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