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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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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: racket · court · land · game · pound · current · cabinet · tube

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. tube — a container
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. land — a country
  6. court — of law
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. game — a match
  9. current — electric
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. court — of a king
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. pound — a weight
  16. court — for sport
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. game — wild animals
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. land — ground
  21. tube — the underground
  22. current — happening now
  23. current — of water
  24. pound — to hit hard

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