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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: net · bay · march · hide · current · mine · last · court

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. march — music
  3. mine — for digging
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. net — after costs
  6. current — of water
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. net — for catching
  9. current — electric
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. court — of a king
  12. court — for sport
  13. court — of law
  14. last — final
  15. march — the month
  16. net — in sport
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. last — finally
  20. current — happening now
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. march — the month
  24. last — to go on

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