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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. spring — a coil
  3. saw — the tool
  4. current — electric
  5. current — of water
  6. staff — employees
  7. saw — the tool
  8. spring — the season
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. track — a song
  11. capital — a city
  12. track — to keep track
  13. staff — a stick
  14. spring — of water
  15. current — happening now
  16. capital — money
  17. staff — employees
  18. capital — a big letter

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