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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 120 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: season · hand · current · bat · stick · trunk · stand · pop

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. pop — music
  4. stand — to bear
  5. pop — to visit
  6. pop — soda
  7. hand — help
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. current — electric
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. current — of water
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. season — of the year
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. hand — in cards
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. season — in sport
  24. bat — the animal

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