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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 116 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. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. bay — to keep at bay
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. kid — child
  5. current — happening now
  6. cold — not warm
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. capital — a city
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. current — electric
  12. squash — the sport
  13. cold — an illness
  14. court — of a king
  15. current — of water
  16. chair — a leader
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. capital — money
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. kid — to tease
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. court — for sport
  23. squash — to crush
  24. capital — a big letter

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