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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: court · game · club · mark · bulb · current · last · row

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. The light ________________ burned out.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. game — a match
  5. bulb — for light
  6. mark — a trace
  7. current — electric
  8. mark — a grade
  9. club — a group
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. row — to paddle
  12. game — wild animals
  13. current — happening now
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. row — a line
  16. last — to go on
  17. court — of law
  18. club — for dancing
  19. court — for sport
  20. court — of a king
  21. last — finally
  22. bulb — for light
  23. current — of water
  24. club — for golf

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