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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. court — for sport
  4. court — of law
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. board — to get on
  7. prune — to trim
  8. game — wild animals
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. squash — to crush
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. current — electric
  13. court — of a king
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. current — of water
  16. squash — the sport
  17. ground — the earth
  18. prune — to trim
  19. current — happening now
  20. board — a committee
  21. ground — crushed
  22. game — a match
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — the animal

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