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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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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 · kid · stick · stand · squash · dip · band · snap

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. kid — child
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. band — a music group
  8. current — of water
  9. dip — to sink
  10. kid — to tease
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. snap — to speak sharply
  19. squash — to crush
  20. current — electric
  21. current — happening now
  22. band — a ring
  23. stand — to bear
  24. snap — to click

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