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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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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: stick · current · wave · fork · spring · chair · wound · saw

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. wound — an injury
  4. spring — the season
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. fork — in a road
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. saw — the tool
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. current — happening now
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. chair — a leader
  14. spring — of water
  15. saw — the tool
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. current — electric
  19. current — of water
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wave — a sudden rise
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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