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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: bat · snap · face · bore · hand · rash · current · rest

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. hand — help
  3. snap — to click
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. bore — to drill
  6. rash — hasty
  7. rest — a break
  8. bat — the animal
  9. hand — in cards
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. current — electric
  12. face — to point toward
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. rest — what's left
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. current — of water
  17. face — to confront
  18. bore — to tire
  19. rest — what's left
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. rash — a series
  22. face — part of the head
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. bore — gave birth

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