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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.

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: rest · bat · cold · nail · tear · mine · mug · current

  1. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  22. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. current — electric
  3. tear — from crying
  4. mine — for digging
  5. bat — the animal
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. tear — to rip
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. cold — an illness
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. rest — what's left
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. cold — not warm
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. tear — from crying
  18. rest — what's left
  19. current — of water
  20. current — happening now
  21. mug — a face
  22. mug — a cup
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. rest — a break

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