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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. court — of law
  4. current — of water
  5. clip — to cut
  6. court — of a king
  7. current — happening now
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. rest — a break
  10. firm — decided
  11. hand — help
  12. hand — in cards
  13. rest — what's left
  14. firm — steady
  15. firm — a company
  16. rest — what's left
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. clip — for paper
  19. pop — soda
  20. current — electric
  21. clip — a video
  22. pop — music
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. pop — to visit

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