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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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. court — of a king
  3. snap — to click
  4. court — for sport
  5. club — for dancing
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. court — of law
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. file — a document
  10. file — a line of people
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. current — of water
  13. fine — high quality
  14. club — a group
  15. club — for golf
  16. file — a tool
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. land — ground
  19. current — happening now
  20. land — a country
  21. current — electric
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. land — to come down
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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