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

Word bank: court · kid · snap · bear · net · current · chair · stem

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. kid — child
  4. current — electric
  5. net — for catching
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. current — of water
  8. snap — to click
  9. stem — to come from
  10. bear — the animal
  11. court — for sport
  12. kid — to tease
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. current — happening now
  15. chair — a leader
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. court — of law
  20. bear — the animal
  21. net — after costs
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. net — in sport

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