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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: rest · pit · rule · wake · saw · mine · bat · current

  1. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. He works in a ________________ mill.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. pit — a hole
  3. pit — in a race
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. rest — what's left
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. bat — the animal
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. current — electric
  13. current — of water
  14. rest — what's left
  15. rest — a break
  16. rule — a law
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. saw — the tool
  19. rule — government
  20. wake — a trail
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. current — happening now
  23. mine — for digging
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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