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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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. game — a match
  3. spell — letters
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. spell — magic
  6. spell — a short time
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. current — of water
  10. game — wild animals
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. present — there
  13. current — happening now
  14. bass — low music
  15. present — the time now
  16. present — a gift
  17. net — for catching
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. net — in sport
  20. bass — the fish
  21. current — electric
  22. wax — to grow
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. game — a kind of play

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