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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 116 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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  16. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  17. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. current — of water
  3. ground — crushed
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. fork — in a road
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. shower — rain
  11. ground — a position
  12. current — happening now
  13. court — of law
  14. ground — the earth
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. lie — to recline
  17. prune — to trim
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. court — of a king
  21. shower — to wash
  22. prune — to trim
  23. current — electric
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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