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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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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: present · chest · land · mark · bat · season · current · nail

  1. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. current — electric
  3. chest — a box
  4. land — ground
  5. mark — a grade
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. present — a gift
  8. season — in sport
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. land — a country
  11. current — happening now
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — of your body
  14. mark — a trace
  15. present — the time now
  16. land — to come down
  17. present — there
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. season — of the year
  22. current — of water
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. nail — on a finger

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