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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. current — of water
  3. club — for golf
  4. net — for catching
  5. net — in sport
  6. club — a group
  7. degree — from a university
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. rush — hurry
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. degree — an amount
  12. spell — letters
  13. spell — magic
  14. capital — a city
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. current — electric
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. capital — money
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. current — happening now
  21. degree — temperature
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. club — for dancing
  24. spell — a short time

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