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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 · present · court · stand · drill · last · mine

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. track — to keep track
  3. last — final
  4. current — of water
  5. track — a path
  6. court — of a king
  7. present — the time now
  8. present — there
  9. mine — for digging
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. drill — army training
  13. drill — the tool
  14. current — electric
  15. last — to go on
  16. last — finally
  17. stand — to bear
  18. track — a song
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. court — for sport
  21. present — a gift
  22. drill — a practice
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. current — happening now

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