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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. band — a music group
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. wound — an injury
  5. drill — the tool
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. wound — an injury
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. net — for catching
  12. net — in sport
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. craft — a skill
  15. snap — to click
  16. craft — boats
  17. band — a ring
  18. drill — army training
  19. current — of water
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. current — happening now
  22. drill — a practice
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. current — electric

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