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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: land · club · spring · current · straw · kick · capital · bore

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. bore — gave birth
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. club — a group
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. current — electric
  7. kick — in football
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. spring — of water
  10. bore — to tire
  11. land — to come down
  12. land — ground
  13. bore — to drill
  14. land — a country
  15. current — of water
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. capital — money
  18. club — for dancing
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. capital — a city
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. spring — the season
  23. current — happening now
  24. club — for golf

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