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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. tear — from crying
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. chair — a leader
  6. current — of water
  7. court — of a king
  8. bulb — for light
  9. saw — the tool
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. current — electric
  12. tear — to rip
  13. saw — the tool
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. court — of law
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. tear — from crying
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. current — happening now
  20. bulb — for light
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. snap — to click

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