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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. club — a group
  3. court — of law
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. kick — in football
  7. current — of water
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. club — for golf
  10. cold — not warm
  11. club — for dancing
  12. court — for sport
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. current — electric
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. bat — the animal
  19. court — of a king
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. cold — an illness
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. wind — moving air
  24. wind — moving air

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