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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. net — in sport
  3. tube — the underground
  4. plane — a tool
  5. net — for catching
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. last — final
  8. current — of water
  9. race — humankind
  10. stock — goods
  11. stock — shares
  12. last — to go on
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. rash — hasty
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. last — finally
  17. race — a contest
  18. current — electric
  19. tube — a container
  20. race — the arms race
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. rash — a series
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. net — after costs

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