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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: lash · current · content · cold · object · tube · kid · bat

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. object — a thing
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. tube — a container
  6. tube — the underground
  7. lash — to lash out
  8. current — electric
  9. kid — to tease
  10. content — the amount
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. content — happy
  15. lash — an eyelash
  16. kid — child
  17. current — of water
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. cold — an illness
  20. object — an aim
  21. bat — the animal
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. current — happening now
  24. content — videos and posts

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