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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. kid — to tease
  3. kid — child
  4. net — for catching
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bank — of a river
  7. present — there
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. bank — for money
  10. pound — a weight
  11. present — the time now
  12. wound — an injury
  13. net — in sport
  14. current — of water
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. net — after costs
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. bank — for money
  19. current — happening now
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. sharp — clever
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. current — electric

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