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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: mouse · cap · hand · rash · current · spring · land · straw

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. cap — a lid
  4. land — to come down
  5. land — ground
  6. rash — hasty
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. mouse — for a computer
  10. current — of water
  11. current — electric
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. cap — a hat
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. hand — help
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. spring — of water
  18. rash — a series
  19. current — happening now
  20. cap — of ice
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. spring — a coil
  23. hand — in cards
  24. land — a country

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