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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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. wound — an injury
  4. current — of water
  5. current — electric
  6. rule — to rule out
  7. wound — an injury
  8. current — happening now
  9. bear — the animal
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. rule — a law
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. cold — an illness
  16. net — after costs
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. cold — not warm
  19. bear — the animal
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. rule — government
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. pass — a permit
  24. net — in sport

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