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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 · press · cabinet · fork · current · roll · sharp · tear

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. current — of water
  3. tear — from crying
  4. press — newspapers
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. tear — to rip
  7. press — a publisher
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. spring — the season
  10. spring — a coil
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. spring — of water
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. roll — a cake
  15. sharp — clever
  16. fork — in a road
  17. press — to push
  18. current — electric
  19. roll — a list
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. tear — from crying
  23. current — happening now
  24. sharp — with an edge

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