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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: craft · cell · court · cold · leaves · rock · present · current

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. present — a gift
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. cold — an illness
  5. craft — a skill
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. court — for sport
  9. cell — a phone
  10. cell — in biology
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. craft — boats
  13. court — of a king
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. rock — a stone
  17. present — the time now
  18. current — happening now
  19. rock — music
  20. cold — not warm
  21. court — of law
  22. current — of water
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. current — electric

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