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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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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. fall — to drop
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. rush — hurry
  6. band — a ring
  7. pound — a weight
  8. present — there
  9. current — of water
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. present — a gift
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. fall — to drop
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. fall — the season
  19. present — the time now
  20. cell — in biology
  21. band — a music group
  22. cell — a phone
  23. bat — the animal
  24. current — electric

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