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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.

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: kick · court · spell · current · date · last · mark · kid

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. kid — child
  3. last — final
  4. court — for sport
  5. spell — letters
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. current — electric
  8. spell — a short time
  9. mark — a trace
  10. mark — a grade
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. spell — magic
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. court — of law
  17. last — to go on
  18. kid — to tease
  19. current — happening now
  20. last — finally
  21. kick — in football
  22. current — of water
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. date — the fruit

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