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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: current · board · chest · bulb · fan · snap · mine · march

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. board — a committee
  5. board — to get on
  6. current — happening now
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. chest — a box
  9. snap — to click
  10. march — music
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. bulb — for light
  13. march — the month
  14. march — the month
  15. chest — of your body
  16. bulb — for light
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. current — electric
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. current — of water
  24. chest — of your body

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