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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. current — happening now
  5. hand — in cards
  6. bank — for money
  7. fine — high quality
  8. game — wild animals
  9. field — farmland
  10. current — electric
  11. lie — to recline
  12. field — for sport
  13. field — a subject
  14. fine — all right
  15. lie — an untruth
  16. hand — help
  17. bank — of a river
  18. net — for catching
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. game — a match
  21. net — after costs
  22. bank — for money
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. current — of water

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