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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: current · jam · cold · fan · foot · tube · tear · trunk

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. current — happening now
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. foot — a measure
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. foot — the bottom
  7. cold — not warm
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. tube — a container
  10. tear — to rip
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. tear — from crying
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. tube — the underground
  16. current — electric
  17. tear — from crying
  18. jam — in traffic
  19. current — of water
  20. cold — an illness
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. jam — to spread on bread
  24. cold — the Cold War

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