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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's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. current — of water
  3. current — happening now
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. net — for catching
  6. stock — goods
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. stock — shares
  9. net — after costs
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. date — the fruit
  12. racket — a loud noise
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. shower — rain
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. pound — a weight
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. net — in sport
  24. current — electric

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