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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: fine · land · lean · spring · march · nail · current · stick

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. lean — thin
  3. march — the month
  4. march — music
  5. current — happening now
  6. current — of water
  7. march — the month
  8. land — a country
  9. spring — the season
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. fine — high quality
  13. current — electric
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. lean — to bend
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. land — ground
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. land — to come down
  21. spring — of water
  22. spring — a coil
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. fine — a penalty

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