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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: deal · swing · mouse · current · court · spring · kid · roll

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. current — of water
  3. swing — to play on
  4. kid — to tease
  5. kid — child
  6. roll — a list
  7. spring — of water
  8. current — happening now
  9. court — of law
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. spring — a coil
  13. court — for sport
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. roll — a cake
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. swing — music
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. swing — in golf
  20. deal — to handle
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. current — electric
  23. spring — the season
  24. roll — on a roll

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