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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 · present · lean · spring · court · net · band · capital

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. lean — to rest against
  3. spring — a coil
  4. capital — a city
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. band — a music group
  7. spring — the season
  8. current — of water
  9. band — a ring
  10. net — in sport
  11. net — after costs
  12. present — there
  13. present — the time now
  14. current — happening now
  15. present — a gift
  16. current — electric
  17. net — for catching
  18. spring — of water
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. court — for sport
  21. lean — thin
  22. capital — money
  23. court — of a king
  24. court — of law

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