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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: band · kid · court · hide · spell · date · cap · current

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. date — the fruit
  3. band — a music group
  4. spell — letters
  5. court — of a king
  6. kid — to tease
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. cap — a hat
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. cap — of ice
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. spell — magic
  14. cap — a lid
  15. court — for sport
  16. kid — child
  17. current — electric
  18. court — of law
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. band — a ring
  22. current — of water
  23. spell — a short time
  24. current — happening now

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