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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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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. file — a tool
  3. fine — all right
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. chest — of your body
  6. current — electric
  7. chest — of your body
  8. fine — high quality
  9. current — happening now
  10. cap — a lid
  11. net — after costs
  12. file — a document
  13. chest — a box
  14. cap — of ice
  15. net — for catching
  16. cap — a hat
  17. net — in sport
  18. file — a line of people

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