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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: bound · drill · craft · last · court · spring · kid · current

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. last — finally
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. bound — certain
  5. drill — army training
  6. current — electric
  7. court — for sport
  8. court — of a king
  9. craft — boats
  10. current — happening now
  11. kid — child
  12. kid — to tease
  13. drill — the tool
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. last — to go on
  16. court — of law
  17. bound — tied together
  18. drill — a practice
  19. craft — a skill
  20. spring — of water
  21. spring — the season
  22. spring — a coil
  23. last — final
  24. bound — obliged

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