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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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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: spring · hand · tube · mine · scale · current · mate · chest

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. tube — a container
  3. spring — the season
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mate — a friend
  6. current — happening now
  7. scale — in music
  8. hand — in cards
  9. chest — of your body
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mine — for digging
  12. hand — help
  13. current — electric
  14. mate — a partner
  15. scale — size or range
  16. tube — the underground
  17. mate — to breed
  18. chest — a box
  19. spring — a coil
  20. current — of water
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. spring — of water
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. chest — of your body

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