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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. rock — a stone
  3. rock — music
  4. file — a document
  5. last — finally
  6. land — ground
  7. current — happening now
  8. land — to come down
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. current — of water
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. last — to go on
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — of water
  15. mark — a trace
  16. last — final
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. file — a line of people
  19. mark — a grade
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. file — a tool
  22. spring — a coil
  23. land — a country
  24. rock — to move gently

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