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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: nail · current · field · race · fall · press · roll · spring

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. field — a subject
  3. spring — a coil
  4. race — a contest
  5. spring — the season
  6. spring — of water
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. current — happening now
  9. fall — to drop
  10. race — the arms race
  11. press — a publisher
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. field — for sport
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. press — newspapers
  16. roll — a list
  17. current — of water
  18. fall — the season
  19. field — farmland
  20. press — to push
  21. current — electric
  22. race — humankind
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. roll — a cake

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