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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: band · pitcher · wax · bat · chip · arm · hand · current

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. current — of water
  3. chip — for betting
  4. band — a music group
  5. chip — in a computer
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. bat — the animal
  10. band — a ring
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. hand — help
  13. current — happening now
  14. hand — in cards
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. wax — to grow
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. current — electric
  23. chip — to eat
  24. pitcher — a jug

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