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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: craft · hand · court · current · net · tube · rule · lash

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. current — happening now
  3. net — for catching
  4. rule — government
  5. current — of water
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. net — in sport
  8. hand — in cards
  9. current — electric
  10. court — of law
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. craft — boats
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. tube — a container
  15. craft — a skill
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. tube — the underground
  18. hand — help
  19. net — after costs
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. court — of a king
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. rule — a 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