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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: mouse · current · drill · content · straw · spring · capital · rush

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. content — happy
  3. content — the amount
  4. rush — hurry
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. drill — a practice
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. capital — money
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. spring — a coil
  11. current — happening now
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. drill — the tool
  15. spring — of water
  16. rush — to hurry
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. current — electric
  20. spring — the season
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. capital — a city
  23. drill — army training
  24. mouse — the 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