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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 · court · fork · cold · pit · cap · net · rock

  1. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. pit — a hole
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. current — of water
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. court — of law
  8. cap — of ice
  9. court — of a king
  10. cold — an illness
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. net — in sport
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. fork — in a road
  15. cap — a hat
  16. pit — in a race
  17. cap — a lid
  18. rock — a stone
  19. current — happening now
  20. net — for catching
  21. rock — music
  22. net — after costs
  23. current — electric
  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