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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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. last — final
  3. current — electric
  4. lean — to bend
  5. cold — not warm
  6. court — of a king
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. current — happening now
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. current — of water
  11. wave — with your hand
  12. lean — thin
  13. court — for sport
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. last — finally
  17. cold — an illness
  18. kid — child
  19. kid — to tease
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. last — to go on
  24. lean — to rest against

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