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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. staff — a stick
  3. mark — a grade
  4. spring — a coil
  5. branch — a division
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — moving air
  8. current — of water
  9. fine — all right
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. mark — a trace
  12. spring — the season
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. current — happening now
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. current — electric
  19. staff — employees
  20. fine — high quality
  21. staff — employees
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. stand — to bear

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