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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: court · squash · current · spell · shower · band · root · press

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. court — of a king
  3. press — a publisher
  4. current — happening now
  5. band — a ring
  6. root — the cause
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. court — for sport
  9. shower — to wash
  10. spell — magic
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. root — of a plant
  13. shower — rain
  14. press — to push
  15. squash — to crush
  16. squash — the sport
  17. spell — letters
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. root — of a word
  20. band — a music group
  21. press — newspapers
  22. court — of law
  23. spell — a short time
  24. current — of water

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