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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. net — after costs
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. cue — a hint
  7. current — electric
  8. cue — for pool
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. current — of water
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. band — a ring
  14. cue — a signal
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. kid — child
  17. net — for catching
  18. spell — a short time
  19. net — in sport
  20. deal — to handle
  21. band — a music group
  22. spell — magic
  23. spell — letters
  24. current — happening now

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