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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: last · spring · squash · pop · degree · wound · current · cabinet

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. wound — an injury
  4. spring — of water
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. pop — to visit
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. squash — the sport
  9. pop — music
  10. last — final
  11. current — happening now
  12. pop — soda
  13. last — finally
  14. degree — temperature
  15. spring — the season
  16. wound — an injury
  17. degree — from a university
  18. degree — an amount
  19. last — to go on
  20. squash — to crush
  21. current — electric
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. current — of water
  24. cabinet — ministers

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