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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: mine · prune · track · cabinet · bear · bat · current · cold

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. bat — the animal
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. mine — for digging
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. cold — an illness
  9. prune — the fruit
  10. prune — to trim
  11. current — of water
  12. bear — the animal
  13. prune — to trim
  14. track — to keep track
  15. bear — the animal
  16. track — a song
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. track — a path
  20. cold — not warm
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. current — happening now
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. bear — to put up with

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