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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 · tube · roll · file · stick · kid · current · bear

  1. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. current — electric
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. current — happening now
  5. file — a line of people
  6. tube — a container
  7. current — of water
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. roll — a list
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. kid — to tease
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bear — the animal
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. roll — a cake
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. kid — child
  18. file — a tool
  19. file — a document
  20. bat — the animal
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. bear — the animal

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