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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: rock · cold · foot · tube · spring · sharp · bore · current

  1. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — an illness
  7. current — electric
  8. bore — to drill
  9. rock — a stone
  10. rock — music
  11. spring — the season
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. tube — a container
  14. sharp — clever
  15. spring — of water
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. tube — the underground
  18. foot — a measure
  19. current — happening now
  20. current — of water
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. spring — a coil
  23. bore — to tire
  24. cold — not warm

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