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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: track · press · current · chest · pitcher · tube · bound · kid

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. kid — child
  3. current — of water
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. chest — a box
  6. bound — certain
  7. track — a song
  8. current — electric
  9. track — a path
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. kid — to tease
  13. track — to keep track
  14. tube — the underground
  15. press — a publisher
  16. tube — a container
  17. press — to push
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. chest — of your body
  20. bound — tied together
  21. chest — of your body
  22. press — newspapers
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. bound — obliged

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