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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
468
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: wind · court · spring · row · track · present · current · file

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. spring — a coil
  3. wind — moving air
  4. file — a document
  5. court — of law
  6. spring — the season
  7. present — the time now
  8. track — a path
  9. court — for sport
  10. current — happening now
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. wind — moving air
  13. present — a gift
  14. file — a line of people
  15. file — a tool
  16. court — of a king
  17. spring — of water
  18. present — there
  19. row — to paddle
  20. track — to keep track
  21. current — of water
  22. track — a song
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. row — a line

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