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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. net — for catching
  3. saw — the tool
  4. file — a line of people
  5. bass — the fish
  6. current — electric
  7. fine — all right
  8. current — happening now
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. fall — the season
  12. fall — to drop
  13. saw — the tool
  14. root — of a plant
  15. net — after costs
  16. current — of water
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bass — low music
  19. net — in sport
  20. file — a document
  21. file — a tool
  22. root — of a word
  23. root — the cause
  24. fine — high quality

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