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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: race · craft · drill · current · court · mouse · hand · cold

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. craft — boats
  4. hand — in cards
  5. drill — army training
  6. race — a contest
  7. court — of a king
  8. cold — an illness
  9. current — of water
  10. court — for sport
  11. drill — a practice
  12. cold — not warm
  13. race — humankind
  14. craft — a handicraft
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. craft — a skill
  17. hand — help
  18. current — electric
  19. race — the arms race
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. court — of law
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. current — happening now
  24. cold — the Cold War

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