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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: current · tear · land · fan · mine · bat · plane · board

  1. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. current — of water
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. mine — for digging
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. land — ground
  9. board — to get on
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bat — the animal
  12. land — a country
  13. land — to come down
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. tear — from crying
  16. current — electric
  17. tear — to rip
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. current — happening now
  21. board — a committee
  22. plane — a tool
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. board — a flat piece

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