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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: bat · bear · current · track · fan · rock · spring · pound

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. track — a path
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. current — of water
  7. rock — a stone
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. bat — the animal
  10. spring — the season
  11. track — to keep track
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. rock — music
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bear — the animal
  16. track — a song
  17. pound — a weight
  18. bear — the animal
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. spring — of water
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. current — electric
  23. spring — a coil
  24. bat — for baseball

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