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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. court — of law
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. drill — the tool
  5. court — of a king
  6. last — final
  7. court — for sport
  8. clip — for paper
  9. current — happening now
  10. toast — bread
  11. tear — to rip
  12. last — to go on
  13. tear — from crying
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. clip — a video
  16. current — of water
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. lie — to recline
  19. tear — from crying
  20. last — finally
  21. clip — to cut
  22. drill — a practice
  23. toast — a drink to someone
  24. drill — army training

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