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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. court — for sport
  3. charge — in control
  4. cold — not warm
  5. charge — electricity
  6. charge — a price
  7. mug — a face
  8. cold — an illness
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. tear — from crying
  11. tear — to rip
  12. pound — a weight
  13. current — of water
  14. wind — moving air
  15. court — of law
  16. mug — a cup
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. wind — moving air
  19. current — happening now
  20. mug — to rob
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. current — electric
  24. tear — from crying

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