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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. cell — in biology
  3. current — electric
  4. cell — a phone
  5. bass — the fish
  6. current — happening now
  7. spring — a coil
  8. capital — a city
  9. spring — the season
  10. capital — money
  11. current — of water
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. bank — for money
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. bank — for money
  16. wake — a trail
  17. net — after costs
  18. bass — low music
  19. net — in sport
  20. spring — of water
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. bank — of a river
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. net — for catching

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