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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: rule · court · row · chest · current · spring · perch · cap

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. current — of water
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. current — electric
  6. chest — of your body
  7. cap — a lid
  8. row — to paddle
  9. rule — government
  10. court — of a king
  11. spring — the season
  12. cap — of ice
  13. spring — of water
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. chest — of your body
  17. cap — a hat
  18. court — of law
  19. current — happening now
  20. rule — a law
  21. perch — the fish
  22. court — for sport
  23. spring — a coil
  24. row — a line

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