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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · march · tear · scale · field · current · land · leaves

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. spring — the season
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. tear — to rip
  7. current — happening now
  8. spring — a coil
  9. current — of water
  10. field — a subject
  11. spring — of water
  12. march — the month
  13. field — farmland
  14. tear — from crying
  15. field — for sport
  16. tear — from crying
  17. scale — in music
  18. land — ground
  19. march — the month
  20. land — to come down
  21. march — music
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. land — a country
  24. scale — size or range

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