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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: date · rest · current · land · bound · bat · stick · pound

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. current — electric
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. date — the fruit
  5. land — a country
  6. current — happening now
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. pound — a weight
  9. rest — a break
  10. bound — obliged
  11. rest — what's left
  12. land — ground
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. current — of water
  16. bound — certain
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. bound — tied together
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. land — to come down
  22. bat — the animal
  23. rest — what's left
  24. bat — for baseball

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