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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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. bound — obliged
  4. current — happening now
  5. bound — certain
  6. rest — a break
  7. bound — tied together
  8. current — electric
  9. court — of a king
  10. stock — shares
  11. rest — what's left
  12. bat — the animal
  13. rest — what's left
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. current — of water
  17. court — of law
  18. stock — goods
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. wake — a trail
  24. bat — in an idiom

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