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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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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: fall · tube · arm · current · pitcher · spring · wound · rash

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. My father caught me by the ________________.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. spring — of water
  3. fall — to drop
  4. wound — an injury
  5. fall — to drop
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. tube — the underground
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. current — electric
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. wound — an injury
  14. rash — hasty
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. current — happening now
  17. tube — a container
  18. spring — the season
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. rash — a series
  22. spring — a coil
  23. current — of water
  24. fall — the season

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