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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bat · fall · can · current · cold · row · chip · mine

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  5. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. chip — to eat
  4. chip — in a computer
  5. can — a tin
  6. can — to be able to
  7. current — happening now
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. can — a tin
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. row — a line
  12. row — to paddle
  13. current — of water
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. chip — for betting
  16. cold — an illness
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. fall — to drop
  19. fall — the season
  20. current — electric
  21. cold — not warm
  22. mine — for digging
  23. fall — to drop
  24. bat — for baseball

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