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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: current · club · spring · trunk · drill · present · field · race

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. spring — of water
  4. club — for golf
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. current — electric
  7. race — the arms race
  8. present — there
  9. spring — a coil
  10. club — for dancing
  11. field — farmland
  12. drill — army training
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. present — a gift
  15. club — a group
  16. race — a contest
  17. present — the time now
  18. race — humankind
  19. field — for sport
  20. current — happening now
  21. spring — the season
  22. drill — a practice
  23. drill — the tool
  24. field — a subject

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