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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 120 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: file · bowl · arm · current · fine · straw · hand · spring

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. My father caught me by the ________________.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. spring — of water
  3. current — happening now
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. file — a tool
  8. file — a line of people
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. hand — help
  11. fine — all right
  12. spring — the season
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. current — of water
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. file — a document
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. spring — a coil
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. fine — high quality
  22. hand — in cards
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. bowl — a football final

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