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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
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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: can · arm · season · current · pitcher · club · court · clip

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. arm — a part of something
  3. court — of a king
  4. club — for dancing
  5. club — for golf
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. clip — a video
  8. current — happening now
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. clip — for paper
  11. current — electric
  12. can — a tin
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. court — of law
  15. club — a group
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. season — of the year
  19. court — for sport
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. clip — to cut
  22. can — a tin
  23. season — in sport
  24. can — to be able to

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