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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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. bulb — for light
  4. club — a group
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. current — of water
  8. current — happening now
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. club — for dancing
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. net — after costs
  14. current — electric
  15. kid — child
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. race — a contest
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. race — the arms race
  21. net — for catching
  22. net — in sport
  23. club — for golf
  24. race — humankind

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