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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: cold · rest · safe · spring · tube · rash · mine · current

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. rash — a series
  4. spring — a coil
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. rest — a break
  7. tube — the underground
  8. rest — what's left
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. tube — a container
  11. rash — hasty
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. mine — for digging
  15. rest — what's left
  16. current — of water
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. spring — the season
  20. current — electric
  21. current — happening now
  22. cold — an illness
  23. spring — of water
  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