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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. hand — help
  4. hand — in cards
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. cold — an illness
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. current — electric
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. current — of water
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. rash — a series
  16. net — for catching
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. cold — not warm
  19. net — in sport
  20. pass — a permit
  21. current — happening now
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. rash — hasty
  24. coach — a trainer

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