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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. spring — the season
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. band — a ring
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. spring — of water
  9. band — a music group
  10. dip — to sink
  11. race — a contest
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. race — the arms race
  15. current — of water
  16. current — electric
  17. dip — to dunk
  18. race — humankind
  19. perch — the fish
  20. spring — a coil
  21. current — happening now
  22. net — in sport
  23. net — after costs
  24. perch — for a bird

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