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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 · current · bark · fork · wave · pop · spring · snap

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. bark — of a tree
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. current — happening now
  5. spring — a coil
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. pop — music
  8. current — electric
  9. spring — of water
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. spring — the season
  12. fork — in a road
  13. current — of water
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. snap — to click
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. cold — an illness
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. bark — to shout
  21. pop — soda
  22. pop — to visit
  23. fork — a garden tool
  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