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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 116 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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468
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: leaves · bat · pop · tube · current · land · club · file

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. club — for golf
  3. bat — the animal
  4. pop — music
  5. file — a document
  6. pop — soda
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. file — a line of people
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. land — a country
  11. current — electric
  12. file — a tool
  13. club — a group
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. land — to come down
  16. land — ground
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. current — happening now
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. club — for dancing
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. pop — to visit
  23. tube — the underground
  24. tube — a container

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