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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: last · cold · charge · current · court · roll · snap · pitcher

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. court — of law
  3. cold — not warm
  4. current — happening now
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. charge — in control
  8. roll — a cake
  9. court — of a king
  10. last — to go on
  11. current — of water
  12. current — electric
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. court — for sport
  15. charge — a price
  16. charge — electricity
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. last — final
  19. roll — a list
  20. last — finally
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. snap — to click
  24. cold — an illness

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