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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. game — a match
  3. current — happening now
  4. mark — a trace
  5. kid — to tease
  6. net — in sport
  7. kid — child
  8. cap — a lid
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. net — after costs
  11. cap — a hat
  12. current — of water
  13. cap — of ice
  14. current — electric
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. mark — a grade
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. net — for catching

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