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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 120 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: shower · pitcher · court · current · spell · last · bound · mug

  1. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. bound — certain
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. court — for sport
  6. current — electric
  7. shower — rain
  8. last — final
  9. spell — letters
  10. bound — obliged
  11. spell — a short time
  12. shower — to wash
  13. court — of a king
  14. current — of water
  15. mug — a cup
  16. last — to go on
  17. spell — magic
  18. mug — to rob
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. mug — a face
  21. last — finally
  22. current — happening now
  23. bound — tied together
  24. court — of law

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