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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. current — of water
  3. court — of law
  4. court — for sport
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. net — for catching
  11. capital — money
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. current — electric
  14. capital — a city
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. current — happening now
  17. net — after costs
  18. lean — to bend
  19. band — a ring
  20. lean — thin
  21. court — of a king
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. band — a music group
  24. wake — a trail

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