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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 116 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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. current — happening now
  3. current — electric
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. prune — to trim
  6. clip — to cut
  7. mate — to breed
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. current — of water
  10. prune — to trim
  11. net — for catching
  12. clip — a video
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kid — to tease
  15. net — after costs
  16. kid — child
  17. clip — for paper
  18. mate — a partner
  19. chip — for betting
  20. pitch — completely
  21. chip — to eat
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. mate — a friend

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