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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 116 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: saw · court · swing · mouse · cold · game · lean · current

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. game — wild animals
  3. lean — to rest against
  4. court — for sport
  5. saw — the tool
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. current — electric
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. court — of a king
  10. cold — an illness
  11. swing — music
  12. court — of law
  13. cold — not warm
  14. lean — to bend
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. lean — thin
  18. saw — the tool
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. swing — to play on
  21. current — happening now
  22. current — of water
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. swing — in golf

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