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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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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: rule · straw · wave · pound · spring · leaves · kid · current

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. spring — the season
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. current — electric
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. current — of water
  9. spring — of water
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. rule — government
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. current — happening now
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. rule — a law
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. spring — a coil
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. kid — child
  23. pound — a weight
  24. rule — to rule out

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