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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. cap — a lid
  3. court — of a king
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. court — for sport
  6. current — happening now
  7. court — of law
  8. patient — calm and waiting
  9. current — electric
  10. foot — a measure
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. cap — a hat
  17. current — of water
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. bark — to shout
  20. cap — of ice
  21. stand — to bear
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. patient — a sick person

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