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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 120 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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. chip — to eat
  8. current — happening now
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. court — of a king
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. court — for sport
  16. row — to paddle
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. row — a line
  19. mine — for digging
  20. chip — for betting
  21. chip — in a computer
  22. current — of water
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. current — electric

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