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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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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: cap · current · lie · wind · snap · race · pass · spring

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. spring — the season
  3. spring — a coil
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — moving air
  6. race — the arms race
  7. pass — a permit
  8. cap — a hat
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. race — a contest
  11. spring — of water
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. cap — a lid
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. current — happening now
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. snap — to click
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. current — electric
  21. race — humankind
  22. lie — to recline
  23. cap — of ice
  24. current — 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