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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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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: snap · bat · scale · rash · game · wind · pitcher · current

  1. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — for baseball
  2. wind — moving air
  3. current — of water
  4. game — wild animals
  5. scale — in music
  6. wind — moving air
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. rash — a series
  11. rash — hasty
  12. snap — to click
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. bat — the animal
  15. scale — size or range
  16. current — happening now
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. game — a match
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. current — electric
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. pitcher — a jug

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