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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: bear · chest · pound · current · spring · bat · last · stick

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. pound — a weight
  4. current — of water
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. chest — a box
  8. spring — the season
  9. current — happening now
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. last — final
  12. bat — the animal
  13. spring — of water
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. current — electric
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — of your body
  20. bear — the animal
  21. bear — the animal
  22. last — to go on
  23. spring — a coil
  24. bat — in an idiom

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