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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 120 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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. current — of water
  4. net — for catching
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. march — music
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. current — happening now
  10. scale — size or range
  11. snap — to click
  12. net — after costs
  13. march — the month
  14. net — in sport
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. scale — in music
  17. current — electric
  18. march — the month

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