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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 120 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: current · lean · hide · mark · hand · last · row · spring

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. lean — to bend
  3. spring — the season
  4. hand — in cards
  5. spring — a coil
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. last — finally
  9. last — to go on
  10. lean — thin
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. current — of water
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. hand — help
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. mark — a grade
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. row — a line
  19. row — to paddle
  20. current — happening now
  21. mark — a trace
  22. last — final
  23. spring — of water
  24. current — electric

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