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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: spring · can · roll · bat · current · march · season · cold

  1. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. current — electric
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. roll — a list
  5. current — of water
  6. can — a tin
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. season — in sport
  9. can — a tin
  10. can — to be able to
  11. spring — the season
  12. spring — a coil
  13. current — happening now
  14. roll — a cake
  15. spring — of water
  16. cold — an illness
  17. march — music
  18. cold — not warm
  19. season — of the year
  20. march — the month
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. march — the month
  23. bat — the animal
  24. season — to add flavour

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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