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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 124 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 thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. current — of water
  3. court — of law
  4. current — happening now
  5. court — of a king
  6. wake — a trail
  7. court — for sport
  8. wake — before a funeral
  9. saw — the tool
  10. saw — the tool
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. fall — to drop
  14. fall — to drop
  15. current — electric
  16. scale — size or range
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. scale — in music
  19. land — ground
  20. land — to come down
  21. land — a country
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. fall — the season
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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