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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. current — of water
  3. current — happening now
  4. kid — child
  5. net — for catching
  6. march — the month
  7. bank — for money
  8. pop — soda
  9. net — after costs
  10. pop — to visit
  11. kid — to tease
  12. pop — music
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. wound — an injury
  16. bank — of a river
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. net — in sport
  19. march — the month
  20. bank — for money
  21. capital — a city
  22. capital — money
  23. march — music
  24. wound — an injury

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