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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.

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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: kid · file · current · net · cap · bat · bound · staff

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. bound — obliged
  3. staff — employees
  4. current — electric
  5. net — in sport
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bat — the animal
  8. file — a tool
  9. cap — a hat
  10. current — happening now
  11. kid — to tease
  12. staff — a stick
  13. current — of water
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. file — a document
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. net — for catching
  18. cap — of ice
  19. bound — certain
  20. file — a line of people
  21. net — after costs
  22. staff — employees
  23. bound — tied together
  24. kid — child

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