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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: ground · current · spring · fork · content · court · chip · bass

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. spring — of water
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. bass — the fish
  5. bass — low music
  6. chip — for betting
  7. current — happening now
  8. content — the amount
  9. content — happy
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. ground — the earth
  13. court — for sport
  14. court — of a king
  15. court — of law
  16. current — of water
  17. fork — in a road
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. spring — a coil
  20. spring — the season
  21. chip — to eat
  22. ground — a position
  23. current — electric
  24. bass — the instrument

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