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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: bore · current · plane · cold · file · spring · toast · spell

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. spring — the season
  3. spell — a short time
  4. current — of water
  5. spring — of water
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. spell — letters
  8. file — a line of people
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. toast — bread
  12. spring — a coil
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. file — a tool
  15. current — electric
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. plane — a tool
  19. toast — a drink to someone
  20. spell — magic
  21. bore — to tire
  22. current — happening now
  23. file — a document
  24. bore — to drill

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