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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. pound — a weight
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. squash — the sport
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. net — in sport
  9. band — a music group
  10. net — for catching
  11. current — of water
  12. squash — to crush
  13. current — electric
  14. mine — for digging
  15. drill — the tool
  16. content — happy
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. net — after costs
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. band — a ring
  22. drill — army training
  23. content — the amount
  24. drill — a practice

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