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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. net — in sport
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. bank — for money
  5. current — electric
  6. chest — a box
  7. net — after costs
  8. wind — moving air
  9. chest — of your body
  10. bank — of a river
  11. bank — for money
  12. key — in music
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. key — the most important part
  16. wind — moving air
  17. last — to go on
  18. last — finally
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. last — final
  21. net — for catching
  22. key — for a lock
  23. current — happening now
  24. chest — of your body

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