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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. It's one o'clock ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. kid — to tease
  3. bulb — for light
  4. wound — an injury
  5. staff — employees
  6. current — of water
  7. spring — the season
  8. sharp — clever
  9. current — happening now
  10. kid — child
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. current — electric
  13. staff — employees
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bulb — for light
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. swing — music
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. sharp — exactly
  21. staff — a stick
  22. swing — in golf
  23. swing — to play on
  24. spring — of water

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