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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 · hand · straw · mate · bulb · spell · perch · court

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. spell — a short time
  3. hand — in cards
  4. spell — letters
  5. court — for sport
  6. mate — to breed
  7. court — of law
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. spell — magic
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. current — happening now
  12. court — of a king
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. mate — a friend
  15. current — of water
  16. mate — a partner
  17. bulb — for light
  18. perch — the fish
  19. hand — help
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. current — electric
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. bulb — of a plant

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