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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 116 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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. key — the most important part
  3. hand — in cards
  4. rush — hurry
  5. spring — the season
  6. current — electric
  7. hand — help
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. key — in music
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. key — for a lock
  15. current — of water
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. rush — to hurry
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. cold — an illness
  21. spring — of water
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. spring — a coil
  24. cold — not warm

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