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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: bat · chair · current · tube · cap · key · date · shower

  1. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. key — the most important part
  3. tube — a container
  4. cap — of ice
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. tube — the underground
  7. current — electric
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. cap — a hat
  10. cap — a lid
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. chair — a leader
  13. shower — rain
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. current — of water
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. bat — the animal
  21. shower — to wash
  22. current — happening now
  23. date — the fruit
  24. key — for a lock

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