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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: dip · hand · bat · roll · bulb · current · vault · cold

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. roll — a cake
  4. cold — an illness
  5. current — of water
  6. bulb — for light
  7. roll — a list
  8. bulb — for light
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. cold — not warm
  12. dip — to sink
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. bulb — of a plant
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. bat — the animal
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. current — electric
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. vault — a safe
  23. hand — help
  24. hand — in cards

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