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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 · chest · mark · jam · mine · row · mug · current

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. row — a line
  6. jam — a tight spot
  7. current — happening now
  8. mug — a cup
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. mug — to rob
  12. row — to paddle
  13. mark — a trace
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. chest — a box
  16. chest — of your body
  17. current — of water
  18. chest — of your body
  19. bat — the animal
  20. mine — for digging
  21. mug — a face
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. mark — a grade
  24. current — electric

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