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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: land · spring · dip · club · stock · spell · snap · current

  1. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. spring — the season
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. snap — to click
  6. club — for golf
  7. current — of water
  8. land — to come down
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. spring — of water
  11. land — a country
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. stock — goods
  14. stock — shares
  15. spring — a coil
  16. spell — magic
  17. current — electric
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. current — happening now
  20. spell — letters
  21. club — for dancing
  22. dip — to sink
  23. land — ground
  24. spell — a short time

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