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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. snap — to click
  3. land — ground
  4. current — happening now
  5. kid — child
  6. staff — employees
  7. court — of law
  8. bass — low music
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. court — for sport
  11. kid — to tease
  12. staff — a stick
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. land — a country
  17. bass — the fish
  18. current — electric
  19. fork — in a road
  20. court — of a king
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. land — to come down
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. current — of water

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