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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 · sharp · jam · bear · current · roll · bat · net

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bear — the animal
  4. net — in sport
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. net — after costs
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. net — for catching
  10. court — for sport
  11. sharp — clever
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. court — of law
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bat — the animal
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. current — electric
  18. bear — the animal
  19. roll — a cake
  20. current — happening now
  21. current — of water
  22. roll — a list
  23. court — of a king
  24. jam — in traffic

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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