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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.

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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: current · spring · clip · ruler · lean · cap · shower · wound

  1. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ruler — a monarch
  2. cap — a hat
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. spring — a coil
  5. clip — to cut
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. current — happening now
  8. lean — to rest against
  9. cap — a lid
  10. current — of water
  11. shower — to wash
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. current — electric
  14. shower — rain
  15. cap — of ice
  16. clip — for paper
  17. clip — a video
  18. lean — to bend
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. spring — the season
  21. wound — an injury
  22. lean — thin
  23. wound — an injury
  24. spring — of water

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