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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: current · trunk · march · cue · cold · bay · court · straw

  1. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. My mare is ________________ in color.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — dry grass
  2. cue — a hint
  3. court — of law
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. current — happening now
  7. march — the month
  8. straw — to clutch at straws
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. current — of water
  11. court — of a king
  12. cue — for pool
  13. court — for sport
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. march — the month
  16. cue — a signal
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. march — music
  19. bay — a horse colour
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. current — electric
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. cold — an illness
  24. cold — not warm

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