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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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — in an idiom
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. net — after costs
  5. rule — a law
  6. current — happening now
  7. ground — the earth
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. current — electric
  10. bat — the animal
  11. shower — to wash
  12. rule — government
  13. net — in sport
  14. ground — a position
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. rash — a series
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. shower — rain
  19. ground — crushed
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. rash — hasty
  22. current — of water
  23. net — for catching
  24. rule — to rule out

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