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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: stand · kid · ball · spell · march · hand · lie · current

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. kid — child
  5. stand — to bear
  6. march — music
  7. spell — letters
  8. current — electric
  9. march — the month
  10. spell — magic
  11. ball — a dance
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. ball — a great time
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. current — happening now
  17. hand — help
  18. lie — to recline
  19. spell — a short time
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. march — the month
  22. kid — to tease
  23. hand — in cards
  24. lie — an untruth

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