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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: court · current · cap · craft · coach · shower · present · tube

  1. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. current — electric
  3. court — of a king
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. shower — to wash
  6. tube — a container
  7. cap — a lid
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. court — of law
  10. current — happening now
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. present — a gift
  13. craft — a skill
  14. present — the time now
  15. cap — a hat
  16. shower — rain
  17. court — for sport
  18. current — of water
  19. craft — a handicraft
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. cap — of ice
  22. craft — boats
  23. tube — the underground
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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