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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: root · staff · march · current · firm · hand · cell · spring

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. current — of water
  3. current — happening now
  4. spring — a coil
  5. hand — in cards
  6. current — electric
  7. march — music
  8. root — the cause
  9. cell — a phone
  10. spring — of water
  11. firm — decided
  12. staff — employees
  13. staff — a stick
  14. spring — the season
  15. root — of a plant
  16. staff — employees
  17. firm — steady
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. cell — in biology
  20. hand — help
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. march — the month
  23. march — the month
  24. root — of a word

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