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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: rush · rock · spring · mine · cold · current · dip · kid

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. current — happening now
  3. rush — to hurry
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. spring — the season
  6. current — electric
  7. current — of water
  8. kid — to tease
  9. kid — child
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. rock — music
  13. mine — for digging
  14. cold — not warm
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. dip — to sink
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. spring — of water
  21. cold — an illness
  22. rock — a stone
  23. rush — hurry
  24. dip — to dunk

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