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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: row · land · chair · court · net · object · kick · current

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. current — happening now
  3. current — electric
  4. court — for sport
  5. row — to paddle
  6. row — a line
  7. net — in sport
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. chair — a leader
  11. land — a country
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. net — for catching
  14. court — of law
  15. land — to come down
  16. object — to protest
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. court — of a king
  20. object — an aim
  21. land — ground
  22. net — after costs
  23. kick — in football
  24. object — a thing

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