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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
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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 · current · fan · cold · rule · snap · season · kick

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. rule — government
  3. spring — the season
  4. current — of water
  5. spring — a coil
  6. rule — a law
  7. season — of the year
  8. season — in sport
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. kick — in football
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. snap — to click
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. spring — of water
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. current — electric
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. current — happening now
  22. cold — not warm
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. cold — an illness

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