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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.

Words on the sheet
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: kid · bat · mine · fall · fan · pit · current · hand

  1. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. kid — to tease
  4. hand — help
  5. current — happening now
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. current — electric
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. current — of water
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. kid — child
  13. pit — in a race
  14. fall — to drop
  15. pit — a hole
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. hand — in cards
  19. fall — to drop
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. bat — the animal
  23. mine — for digging
  24. fall — the season

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