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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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. court — of a king
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. mine — for digging
  5. court — for sport
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. current — electric
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. current — happening now
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. content — the amount
  14. current — of water
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. stock — goods
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. court — of law
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. wake — a trail
  21. kick — in football
  22. content — happy
  23. stock — shares
  24. content — videos and posts

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