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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: pit · bat · roll · court · current · face · net · squash

  1. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — in a race
  2. net — after costs
  3. net — for catching
  4. roll — a cake
  5. bat — the animal
  6. court — of a king
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. current — electric
  9. face — to point toward
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. face — to confront
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. court — of law
  14. pit — a hole
  15. squash — to crush
  16. squash — the sport
  17. court — for sport
  18. current — of water
  19. net — in sport
  20. current — happening now
  21. face — part of the head
  22. roll — a list
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. bat — for baseball

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