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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. net — in sport
  3. bank — for money
  4. current — of water
  5. season — of the year
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. suit — clothes
  9. net — after costs
  10. club — a group
  11. bank — for money
  12. clip — for paper
  13. clip — a video
  14. suit — in cards
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. club — for golf
  17. bank — of a river
  18. season — in sport
  19. net — for catching
  20. current — electric
  21. clip — to cut
  22. current — happening now
  23. suit — to fit
  24. pitcher — a jug

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