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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. net — for catching
  3. net — after costs
  4. current — electric
  5. land — a country
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. last — finally
  8. net — in sport
  9. land — ground
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. snap — to click
  12. prune — to trim
  13. object — an aim
  14. current — happening now
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. last — final
  17. object — a thing
  18. press — to push
  19. object — to protest
  20. press — newspapers
  21. last — to go on
  22. prune — to trim
  23. press — a publisher
  24. land — to come down

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