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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. net — in sport
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. current — electric
  6. board — a committee
  7. shower — to wash
  8. tube — a container
  9. content — the amount
  10. board — to get on
  11. pound — a weight
  12. shower — rain
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. content — happy
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. current — of water
  20. net — for catching
  21. tube — the underground
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. current — happening now
  24. straw — a straw man

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