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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: current · chair · ground · cold · chip · court · drill · lash

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. drill — a practice
  3. chip — in a computer
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. chip — to eat
  8. cold — an illness
  9. drill — army training
  10. court — for sport
  11. current — of water
  12. current — electric
  13. court — of law
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. ground — the earth
  16. current — happening now
  17. chip — for betting
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. chair — a leader
  20. court — of a king
  21. ground — crushed
  22. ground — a position
  23. drill — the tool
  24. cold — not warm

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