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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: spring · perch · trunk · fan · hide · court · ground · current

  1. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. perch — the fish
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. ground — crushed
  4. court — of law
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. current — happening now
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. current — electric
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. ground — a position
  13. current — of water
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. court — for sport
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. ground — the earth
  19. spring — of water
  20. spring — the season
  21. court — of a king
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. spring — a coil

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