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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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. current — happening now
  5. roll — a cake
  6. swing — in golf
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. last — finally
  10. fall — to drop
  11. court — of law
  12. court — for sport
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. roll — a list
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — the season
  18. swing — to play on
  19. last — to go on
  20. current — electric
  21. current — of water
  22. swing — music
  23. rush — hurry
  24. last — final

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