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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 · cold · spring · kick · roll · track · current · safe

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  5. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. current — of water
  3. track — to keep track
  4. safe — out of danger
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. current — happening now
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. track — a song
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. cold — not warm
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. bat — the animal
  15. track — a path
  16. current — electric
  17. roll — a cake
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. roll — a list
  20. cold — an illness
  21. spring — a coil
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. spring — the season
  24. kick — in football

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