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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: pop · current · ball · kick · spring · wind · scale · court

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. wind — moving air
  3. spring — a coil
  4. court — of law
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. ball — a great time
  7. scale — size or range
  8. wind — moving air
  9. current — of water
  10. scale — in music
  11. pop — to visit
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. court — for sport
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. spring — the season
  16. current — happening now
  17. kick — in football
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. ball — a dance
  20. current — electric
  21. pop — music
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. spring — of water
  24. pop — soda

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