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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. bound — certain
  3. current — electric
  4. current — of water
  5. current — happening now
  6. rest — a break
  7. swing — to play on
  8. bound — tied together
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. file — a tool
  11. net — in sport
  12. content — happy
  13. file — a line of people
  14. file — a document
  15. bound — obliged
  16. net — for catching
  17. rule — a law
  18. rest — what's left
  19. rule — government
  20. content — the amount
  21. rest — what's left
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. net — after costs
  24. swing — in golf

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