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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: wound · last · snap · track · pass · current · court · scale

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. last — finally
  3. current — of water
  4. pass — a permit
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. scale — in music
  7. snap — to click
  8. last — final
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. court — of a king
  11. track — to keep track
  12. track — a song
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. current — electric
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. last — to go on
  18. scale — size or range
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. track — a path
  21. wound — an injury
  22. current — happening now
  23. court — of law
  24. scale — for weighing

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