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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: cold · mug · net · bound · wound · current · pit · bat

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. wound — an injury
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. bound — certain
  6. current — happening now
  7. pit — in a race
  8. mug — a face
  9. bound — tied together
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. current — of water
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. current — electric
  14. wound — an injury
  15. bound — obliged
  16. bat — the animal
  17. net — for catching
  18. cold — not warm
  19. net — after costs
  20. mug — a cup
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. net — in sport
  23. cold — an illness
  24. mug — to rob

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