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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 116 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. rock — a stone
  4. game — wild animals
  5. mine — for digging
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. net — in sport
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. game — a match
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. rock — music
  12. net — for catching
  13. net — after costs
  14. current — of water
  15. bulb — for light
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. bulb — for light
  18. current — electric

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