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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. pop — soda
  5. key — in music
  6. current — electric
  7. current — of water
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. shower — to wash
  11. key — the most important part
  12. key — for a lock
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. spring — of water
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. pop — music
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. spring — the season
  19. pop — to visit
  20. current — happening now
  21. rash — hasty
  22. rash — a series
  23. fork — in a road
  24. shower — rain

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