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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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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: race · snap · current · cold · bat · leaves · firm · fan

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. firm — decided
  3. race — the arms race
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. snap — to click
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. firm — steady
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. current — happening now
  12. current — of water
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. cold — not warm
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. cold — an illness
  17. current — electric
  18. race — a contest
  19. race — humankind
  20. bat — the animal
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. firm — a company

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