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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 · track · ground · cold · lie · content · deal · court

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. court — of a king
  4. court — of law
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. court — for sport
  7. deal — to handle
  8. current — of water
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. ground — a position
  11. track — to keep track
  12. current — electric
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. cold — an illness
  15. lie — to recline
  16. content — the amount
  17. content — happy
  18. cold — not warm
  19. ground — the earth
  20. track — a song
  21. current — happening now
  22. track — a path
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. ground — crushed

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