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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. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. mate — a friend
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. current — of water
  5. current — happening now
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. staff — a stick
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. staff — employees
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. staff — employees
  12. current — electric
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. mate — a partner
  15. band — a ring
  16. mate — to breed
  17. bat — the animal
  18. file — a tool
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. file — a line of people
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. file — a document
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. band — a music group

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