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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.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: deal · cold · current · fan · wake · spring · foot · wind

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. spring — of water
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. wake — a trail
  8. current — electric
  9. cold — an illness
  10. current — of water
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. current — happening now
  13. foot — a measure
  14. cold — not warm
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. foot — part of the body
  17. wind — moving air
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. spring — the season
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. wind — moving air
  24. deal — to handle

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