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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. current — of water
  3. current — electric
  4. land — to come down
  5. wound — an injury
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. wound — an injury
  8. net — after costs
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. land — a country
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. squash — the sport
  16. net — in sport
  17. mine — for digging
  18. net — for catching
  19. land — ground
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. squash — to crush
  24. current — happening now

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