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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 ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. mark — a trace
  3. squash — the sport
  4. current — of water
  5. land — to come down
  6. land — ground
  7. court — of a king
  8. mark — a grade
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. court — for sport
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. net — in sport
  13. net — for catching
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. mine — for digging
  17. squash — to crush
  18. land — a country
  19. current — happening now
  20. net — after costs
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. current — electric
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. wax — to grow

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