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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. current — happening now
  3. fork — a garden tool
  4. march — the month
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. wind — moving air
  7. fork — in a road
  8. temple — side of the head
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. pound — a weight
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. spring — a coil
  13. spring — the season
  14. saw — the tool
  15. march — the month
  16. saw — the tool
  17. current — electric
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. current — of water
  20. march — music
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. wind — moving air
  24. pound — for dogs

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