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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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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: current · pit · arm · wind · spring · rock · content · fork

  1. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. My father caught me by the ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. current — electric
  3. current — happening now
  4. rock — music
  5. spring — a coil
  6. rock — a stone
  7. spring — of water
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. pit — in a race
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. wind — moving air
  14. current — of water
  15. fork — in a road
  16. content — the amount
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. spring — the season
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. pit — a hole
  23. arm — part of the body
  24. content — happy

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