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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. board — to get on
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. content — happy
  8. current — electric
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. content — the amount
  12. current — of water
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. net — for catching
  15. mine — for digging
  16. wound — an injury
  17. net — in sport
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. wound — an injury
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. net — after costs
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. current — happening now
  24. board — a committee

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