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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 120 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: arm · land · current · saw · file · ball · press · court

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. current — happening now
  3. press — to push
  4. court — of law
  5. current — of water
  6. land — to come down
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. ball — a great time
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. current — electric
  11. file — a line of people
  12. saw — the tool
  13. ball — a dance
  14. arm — a part of something
  15. court — for sport
  16. saw — the tool
  17. court — of a king
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. land — a country
  20. press — newspapers
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. land — ground
  23. file — a document
  24. press — a publisher

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