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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 116 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: land · stock · shower · current · rush · fork · snap · spring

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. spring — the season
  4. spring — of water
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. rush — hurry
  8. land — to come down
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. current — of water
  11. current — happening now
  12. land — a country
  13. fork — in a road
  14. snap — to click
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. land — ground
  18. current — electric
  19. stock — shares
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. stock — goods
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. shower — rain
  24. shower — to wash

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