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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: spring · club · pop · wake · hide · race · ground · current

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. We're almost out of ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. club — for dancing
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. club — for golf
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. current — happening now
  7. ground — a position
  8. spring — a coil
  9. ground — the earth
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. pop — soda
  12. club — a group
  13. race — humankind
  14. spring — the season
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. race — a contest
  17. current — of water
  18. current — electric
  19. spring — of water
  20. pop — to visit
  21. ground — crushed
  22. wake — a trail
  23. pop — music
  24. race — the arms race

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