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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: row · saw · current · craft · cold · nail · mine · spring

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. cold — not warm
  3. current — happening now
  4. saw — the tool
  5. mine — for digging
  6. spring — of water
  7. craft — a skill
  8. craft — a handicraft
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. row — to paddle
  11. spring — a coil
  12. row — a line
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. spring — the season
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. craft — boats
  21. saw — the tool
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — an illness
  24. current — of water

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