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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 is in your ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  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. court — for sport
  2. cap — a hat
  3. firm — steady
  4. net — for catching
  5. net — in sport
  6. firm — decided
  7. cap — a lid
  8. firm — a company
  9. current — of water
  10. land — a country
  11. land — to come down
  12. chest — a box
  13. bass — low music
  14. court — of a king
  15. bass — the fish
  16. current — electric
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. net — after costs
  19. current — happening now
  20. court — of law
  21. cap — of ice
  22. land — ground
  23. chest — of your body
  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