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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. current — of water
  4. net — after costs
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. wound — an injury
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. stock — shares
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. fork — in a road
  15. stock — goods
  16. net — for catching
  17. net — in sport
  18. current — happening now
  19. current — electric
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. wound — an injury
  24. pitcher — a jug

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