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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: kick · bat · tear · current · cap · rash · club · date

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. club — for dancing
  3. bat — the animal
  4. current — electric
  5. current — of water
  6. current — happening now
  7. tear — to rip
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. cap — a lid
  10. cap — a hat
  11. kick — in football
  12. cap — of ice
  13. club — for golf
  14. date — the fruit
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. tear — from crying
  18. rash — hasty
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. rash — a series
  22. tear — from crying
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. club — a group

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