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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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — for a bird
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. bank — for money
  4. court — of law
  5. court — for sport
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. kid — child
  8. current — of water
  9. spring — of water
  10. bank — of a river
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. current — electric
  13. spring — a coil
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. fork — in a road
  16. kid — to tease
  17. bass — the fish
  18. bank — for money
  19. bass — low music
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. current — happening now
  22. spring — the season
  23. perch — the fish
  24. court — of a king

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