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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 124 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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  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. net — after costs
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. saw — the tool
  5. deal — to handle
  6. fine — high quality
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. current — of water
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. ground — a position
  11. ground — crushed
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. saw — the tool
  14. ground — the earth
  15. net — in sport
  16. fine — all right
  17. current — electric
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. snap — to click
  20. shower — rain
  21. shower — to wash
  22. net — for catching
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  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