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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: bound · spring · current · hand · staff · tube · game · season

  1. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. I'll be taking the ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. game — wild animals
  5. bound — tied together
  6. spring — the season
  7. staff — a stick
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. current — of water
  10. game — a match
  11. spring — a coil
  12. hand — in cards
  13. season — of the year
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. current — happening now
  16. tube — a container
  17. spring — of water
  18. current — electric
  19. bound — certain
  20. staff — employees
  21. season — in sport
  22. tube — the underground
  23. hand — help
  24. bound — obliged

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