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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: spring · march · current · row · spell · stock · shower · wound

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. row — to paddle
  3. current — happening now
  4. spell — magic
  5. row — a line
  6. current — of water
  7. spell — a short time
  8. shower — rain
  9. march — the month
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. spring — a coil
  13. march — the month
  14. march — music
  15. stock — goods
  16. wound — an injury
  17. wound — an injury
  18. spell — letters
  19. spring — of water
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. stock — shares
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. current — electric
  24. spring — the season

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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