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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. kick — in football
  3. current — happening now
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. net — in sport
  6. cue — a signal
  7. kick — with a leg
  8. cue — for pool
  9. current — electric
  10. current — of water
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. spring — a coil
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. net — for catching
  16. season — in sport
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. spring — the season
  19. cue — a hint
  20. season — of the year
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. spring — of water
  24. bark — to shout

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