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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: current · fan · plane · game · cold · bay · court · last

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  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. cold — not warm
  2. last — finally
  3. current — electric
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. current — of water
  6. game — a match
  7. court — of a king
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. court — of law
  11. current — happening now
  12. last — to go on
  13. game — wild animals
  14. plane — a tool
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. last — final
  21. court — for sport
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. plane — in geometry
  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