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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. rash — hasty
  3. mug — to rob
  4. swing — in golf
  5. current — of water
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. court — of law
  8. rush — hurry
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. mug — a face
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. current — electric
  14. snap — to click
  15. current — happening now
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. rash — a series
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. court — of a king
  20. swing — to play on
  21. swing — music
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. mug — a cup
  24. mine — for digging

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