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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: cap · spell · hand · current · fine · mine · kid · stand

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. hand — help
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. current — of water
  6. mine — for digging
  7. spell — magic
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. fine — high quality
  12. hand — in cards
  13. kid — child
  14. kid — to tease
  15. cap — a hat
  16. stand — to bear
  17. fine — all right
  18. cap — a lid
  19. current — happening now
  20. spell — a short time
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. spell — letters
  23. cap — of ice
  24. mine — an explosive

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