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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 120 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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. stand — to bear
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. chest — of your body
  5. spring — a coil
  6. rock — a stone
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. chest — a box
  9. spring — of water
  10. rush — hurry
  11. cell — a phone
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. mine — for digging
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. chest — of your body
  16. cell — in biology
  17. current — of water
  18. current — electric
  19. rock — music
  20. spring — the season
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. current — happening now
  24. stand — for spectators

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