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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. current — electric
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. land — a country
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. spring — the season
  9. land — ground
  10. tube — a container
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. spring — a coil
  13. march — the month
  14. pound — a weight
  15. tube — the underground
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. land — to come down
  18. march — the month
  19. march — music
  20. wake — a trail
  21. current — happening now
  22. current — of water
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. calf — a young animal

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