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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 116 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: cold · current · pound · cell · band · drill · lash · mug

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. drill — a practice
  3. current — electric
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — an illness
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. cell — a phone
  11. band — a ring
  12. lash — a whip stroke
  13. drill — the tool
  14. current — happening now
  15. cell — in biology
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. band — a music group
  18. mug — to rob
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. mug — a cup
  21. drill — army training
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. pound — a weight
  24. current — of water

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