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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: ground · current · court · cold · cap · hide · snap · spell

  1. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cap — a hat
  4. current — electric
  5. snap — to click
  6. ground — the earth
  7. ground — a position
  8. current — of water
  9. court — for sport
  10. cold — not warm
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. cap — of ice
  14. spell — magic
  15. court — of law
  16. cold — an illness
  17. spell — a short time
  18. court — of a king
  19. current — happening now
  20. cap — a lid
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. ground — crushed
  24. hide — to keep secret

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