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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: kick · rash · drill · last · cold · ball · current · bound

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. current — of water
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. bound — certain
  6. cold — an illness
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. drill — army training
  9. ball — a dance
  10. rash — hasty
  11. last — finally
  12. drill — a practice
  13. rash — a series
  14. drill — the tool
  15. bound — tied together
  16. current — happening now
  17. last — to go on
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. last — final
  20. bound — obliged
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. cold — not warm
  23. ball — a great time
  24. kick — in football

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