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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 · kid · current · cell · fall · ground · sharp · face

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. kid — to tease
  3. sharp — clever
  4. kid — child
  5. ground — a position
  6. ground — the earth
  7. current — happening now
  8. fall — to drop
  9. current — of water
  10. cell — in biology
  11. spring — the season
  12. face — to point toward
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. cell — a phone
  16. ground — crushed
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. fall — the season
  19. spring — of water
  20. face — to confront
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. current — electric
  23. face — part of the head
  24. fall — to drop

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