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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 124 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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  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. court — for sport
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. fork — to eat with
  6. bat — the animal
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. present — there
  10. present — the time now
  11. current — electric
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. bass — low music
  14. court — of a king
  15. present — a gift
  16. current — happening now
  17. bass — the fish
  18. bore — to drill
  19. fork — in a road
  20. bore — to tire
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. current — of water
  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