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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.

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: chair · mine · tear · pit · current · spell · squash · spring

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. spring — the season
  4. pit — a hole
  5. spell — a short time
  6. pit — in a race
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. current — happening now
  9. spring — of water
  10. chair — a leader
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. tear — from crying
  14. pit — a fruit stone
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — to rip
  18. current — of water
  19. spring — a coil
  20. squash — the sport
  21. spell — magic
  22. mine — for digging
  23. spell — letters
  24. current — electric

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