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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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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  13. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. court — for sport
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. root — of a word
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. bulb — for light
  8. court — of law
  9. mine — for digging
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. bulb — for light
  12. perch — the fish
  13. bulb — of a plant
  14. current — electric
  15. ball — a dance
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. current — happening now
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. root — of a plant
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. court — of a king
  23. root — the cause
  24. ball — a great time

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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