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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. net — in sport
  3. current — happening now
  4. field — farmland
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. fall — the season
  8. firm — steady
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. net — for catching
  11. current — of water
  12. field — a subject
  13. firm — a company
  14. fall — to drop
  15. current — electric
  16. fall — to drop
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. perch — the fish
  19. pit — a hole
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. pit — in a race
  22. pit — a fruit stone
  23. field — for sport
  24. firm — decided

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