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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: court · chair · net · current · track · wind · rest · calf

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. net — after costs
  3. wind — moving air
  4. net — for catching
  5. rest — a break
  6. court — of law
  7. rest — what's left
  8. net — in sport
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. current — happening now
  11. track — to keep track
  12. wind — moving air
  13. rest — what's left
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. chair — a leader
  16. current — of water
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. court — of a king
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. current — electric
  23. track — a song
  24. track — a path

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