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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: chair · court · rule · current · kid · saw · mug · face

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Where did you ________________ them?
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. kid — child
  4. mug — a face
  5. rule — a law
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. mug — a cup
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. face — to confront
  11. court — of a king
  12. face — to point toward
  13. court — for sport
  14. rule — government
  15. saw — the tool
  16. chair — a leader
  17. face — part of the head
  18. court — of law
  19. kid — to tease
  20. current — electric
  21. current — of water
  22. mug — to rob
  23. saw — the tool
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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