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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. I can't ________________ this cold.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. ball — a great time
  3. bat — the animal
  4. cold — not warm
  5. pit — a hole
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. band — a music group
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. current — electric
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. band — a ring
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. cold — an illness
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. ball — a dance
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. current — of water
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. pit — in a race
  24. stand — to bear

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