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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: spring · can · kid · season · current · deal · capital · cold

  1. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. can — a tin
  2. cold — not warm
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. spring — of water
  5. can — a tin
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. kid — child
  9. capital — money
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. current — of water
  12. spring — a coil
  13. can — to be able to
  14. capital — a city
  15. current — happening now
  16. kid — to tease
  17. current — electric
  18. season — in sport
  19. deal — to handle
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. season — of the year
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. spring — the season
  24. cold — an illness

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