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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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. firm — a company
  3. court — of law
  4. current — happening now
  5. bound — certain
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. firm — steady
  8. squash — the sport
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. current — of water
  11. race — the arms race
  12. squash — to crush
  13. race — humankind
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. bound — obliged
  16. current — electric
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. race — a contest
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. firm — decided
  21. court — for sport
  22. court — of a king
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. bound — tied together

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