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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. row — a line
  4. current — happening now
  5. current — of water
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. tear — from crying
  8. content — the amount
  9. wound — an injury
  10. firm — a company
  11. firm — decided
  12. court — of a king
  13. wound — an injury
  14. pass — a permit
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. court — of law
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. row — to paddle
  19. firm — steady
  20. tear — from crying
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. current — electric
  23. tear — to rip
  24. content — happy

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