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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: band · snap · ground · spring · tear · ball · current · tube

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. tear — from crying
  3. ball — a great time
  4. tear — to rip
  5. snap — to speak sharply
  6. band — a music group
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. spring — a coil
  9. current — of water
  10. tear — from crying
  11. spring — the season
  12. current — happening now
  13. spring — of water
  14. ball — a dance
  15. tube — the underground
  16. ground — the earth
  17. band — a ring
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. ground — crushed
  20. snap — to click
  21. ground — a position
  22. current — electric
  23. tube — a container
  24. tube — in a tire

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