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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: ground · saw · last · rock · bat · spring · current · wound

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. She's very handy with a ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. ground — the earth
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. last — finally
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. last — final
  8. last — to go on
  9. rock — a stone
  10. ground — crushed
  11. current — electric
  12. saw — the tool
  13. spring — the season
  14. saw — the tool
  15. bat — the animal
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. wound — an injury
  18. ground — a position
  19. wound — an injury
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. spring — a coil
  22. current — happening now
  23. spring — of water
  24. rock — music

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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