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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: current · spring · lean · bat · bound · pitcher · court · spell

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. court — of law
  3. spring — a coil
  4. current — happening now
  5. court — for sport
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. lean — thin
  8. spell — letters
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. spell — a short time
  11. spell — magic
  12. bound — obliged
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. bound — tied together
  15. lean — to bend
  16. bound — certain
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. spring — of water
  19. spring — the season
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. court — of a king
  22. bat — the animal
  23. current — electric
  24. current — of water

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