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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: content · current · bulb · court · club · squash · can · wound

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  5. The ball is in your ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. content — happy
  3. current — of water
  4. can — a tin
  5. court — for sport
  6. content — the amount
  7. wound — an injury
  8. club — for golf
  9. can — to be able to
  10. court — of law
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. squash — to crush
  13. wound — an injury
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. bulb — for light
  17. can — a tin
  18. bulb — for light
  19. current — happening now
  20. court — of a king
  21. current — electric
  22. squash — the sport
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. club — a group

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