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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 116 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: current · court · field · fork · leaves · nail · tube · cold

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. court — for sport
  3. field — farmland
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. court — of a king
  6. tube — the underground
  7. current — of water
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. current — electric
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cold — an illness
  13. field — a subject
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. tube — a container
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. field — for sport
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. court — of law
  22. fork — in a road
  23. cold — not warm
  24. leaves — lets stay

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