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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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. bass — the fish
  3. content — happy
  4. lean — to bend
  5. mate — to breed
  6. court — of a king
  7. bass — low music
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. court — of law
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. patient — calm and waiting
  12. mate — a partner
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. present — there
  15. mate — a friend
  16. current — happening now
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. present — a gift
  19. lean — thin
  20. current — of water
  21. content — the amount
  22. present — the time now
  23. current — electric
  24. bass — the instrument

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