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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: game · court · wind · bay · chip · roll · last · current

  1. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. My mare is ________________ in color.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. wind — moving air
  3. last — final
  4. court — for sport
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. current — happening now
  7. game — wild animals
  8. game — a match
  9. roll — a cake
  10. bay — a horse colour
  11. current — of water
  12. last — finally
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. chip — for betting
  15. last — to go on
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. current — electric
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. court — of a king
  20. court — of law
  21. chip — to eat
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. bay — to keep at bay
  24. wind — moving air

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