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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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The ball is in your ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. last — final
  3. current — electric
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. band — a music group
  6. court — of a king
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. chest — a box
  9. court — of law
  10. last — to go on
  11. current — happening now
  12. band — a ring
  13. last — finally
  14. chest — of your body
  15. swing — to play on
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. court — for sport
  19. current — of water
  20. swing — music
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. swing — in golf
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. chest — of your body

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