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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 120 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: bear · fan · kid · charge · stem · bat · current · can

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. stem — to come from
  3. charge — in control
  4. current — electric
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bat — the animal
  7. can — to be able to
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. charge — a price
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. current — of water
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. can — a tin
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bear — the animal
  18. kid — child
  19. can — a tin
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. charge — electricity
  24. current — happening now

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