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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: mark · current · charge · cold · chest · bat · date · bass

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. charge — in control
  4. charge — a price
  5. current — of water
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. cold — not warm
  8. charge — electricity
  9. chest — of your body
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. bass — low music
  12. current — electric
  13. current — happening now
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. mark — a grade
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. chest — of your body
  18. date — the fruit
  19. mark — a trace
  20. bass — the fish
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. chest — a box
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. bat — the animal

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