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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. snap — to click
  3. net — after costs
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. degree — temperature
  6. current — of water
  7. net — in sport
  8. current — electric
  9. pit — in a race
  10. bass — low music
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. rest — what's left
  13. degree — from a university
  14. spell — letters
  15. spell — magic
  16. bass — the fish
  17. degree — an amount
  18. rest — a break
  19. rest — what's left
  20. spell — a short time
  21. pit — a hole
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. net — for catching

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