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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. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — of a bank
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. net — for catching
  4. game — wild animals
  5. current — of water
  6. net — after costs
  7. game — a match
  8. net — in sport
  9. scale — size or range
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. current — happening now
  13. current — electric
  14. wind — moving air
  15. scale — in music
  16. branch — a division
  17. wind — moving air
  18. scale — for weighing

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