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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: mine · hand · rash · tube · cold · current · wound · jam

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. rash — a series
  3. tube — the underground
  4. cold — not warm
  5. rash — hasty
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. current — electric
  10. wound — an injury
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. current — of water
  13. hand — in cards
  14. current — happening now
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. mine — for digging
  18. hand — help
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. wound — an injury
  21. tube — a container
  22. jam — to spread on bread
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. mine — belonging to me

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