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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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. current — happening now
  3. pit — in a race
  4. court — for sport
  5. kid — child
  6. spring — the season
  7. club — for dancing
  8. club — for golf
  9. ground — crushed
  10. cap — a hat
  11. court — of law
  12. ground — the earth
  13. spring — a coil
  14. current — of water
  15. club — a group
  16. pit — a fruit stone
  17. current — electric
  18. spring — of water
  19. cap — a lid
  20. kid — to tease
  21. ground — a position
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. cap — of ice
  24. court — of a king

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