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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 120 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. court — of law
  3. rule — a law
  4. pop — soda
  5. spring — of water
  6. pop — music
  7. court — for sport
  8. rule — government
  9. current — of water
  10. season — of the year
  11. spring — a coil
  12. game — a match
  13. season — in sport
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. game — wild animals
  16. stock — shares
  17. court — of a king
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. pop — to visit
  21. current — happening now
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. spring — the season
  24. stock — goods

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