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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: fan · fork · court · cold · ground · lean · arm · current

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. lean — to bend
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. current — electric
  5. current — of water
  6. court — of law
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. current — happening now
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. lean — thin
  14. cold — an illness
  15. court — of a king
  16. ground — a position
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. cold — not warm
  21. fork — in a road
  22. ground — crushed
  23. ground — the earth
  24. court — for sport

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