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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. file — a tool
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. present — there
  5. court — of law
  6. cold — not warm
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. current — of water
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. present — the time now
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. file — a line of people
  16. current — electric
  17. current — happening now
  18. file — a document
  19. cold — an illness
  20. court — of a king
  21. plane — a tool
  22. present — a gift
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. leaves — of a tree

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