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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: jam · cue · bat · cold · fan · wound · current · lash

  1. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  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. fan — a supporter
  2. cue — a hint
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. current — of water
  5. jam — in traffic
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. current — electric
  8. wound — an injury
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. cue — a signal
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — not warm
  14. jam — to spread on bread
  15. bat — the animal
  16. current — happening now
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. cue — for pool
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. wound — an injury
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  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