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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: ground · file · race · current · tear · cabinet · spring · rush

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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. file — a tool
  4. current — of water
  5. ground — crushed
  6. race — humankind
  7. race — a contest
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. tear — from crying
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. spring — of water
  12. ground — the earth
  13. race — the arms race
  14. file — a document
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. tear — from crying
  17. spring — the season
  18. ground — a position
  19. current — electric
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. tear — to rip
  22. rush — hurry
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. file — a line of people

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