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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. pitch — completely
  3. current — happening now
  4. net — after costs
  5. rest — what's left
  6. current — electric
  7. band — a music group
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. band — a ring
  10. march — the month
  11. rest — a break
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. rest — what's left
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. cap — a hat
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. plane — a tool
  19. cap — of ice
  20. march — the month
  21. net — in sport
  22. net — for catching
  23. cap — a lid
  24. march — music

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