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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: deal · current · branch · wind · spring · chair · present · row

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. present — there
  3. current — happening now
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. current — electric
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. current — of water
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. branch — a division
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. chair — a leader
  13. spring — a coil
  14. wind — moving air
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. deal — to handle
  17. spring — the season
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. present — the time now
  20. present — a gift
  21. wind — moving air
  22. row — a line
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. row — to paddle

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