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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 120 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: spring · perch · mate · rule · current · swing · court · straw

  1. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. court — for sport
  3. perch — the fish
  4. rule — government
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. spring — the season
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. spring — of water
  9. court — of a king
  10. current — happening now
  11. court — of law
  12. mate — a friend
  13. mate — a partner
  14. spring — a coil
  15. rule — a law
  16. swing — music
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. current — electric
  20. current — of water
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. swing — to play on
  23. swing — in golf
  24. rule — to rule out

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