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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 116 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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. mate — a partner
  3. court — of a king
  4. row — to paddle
  5. squash — the sport
  6. current — electric
  7. drill — a practice
  8. court — of law
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. drill — the tool
  11. current — of water
  12. court — for sport
  13. net — for catching
  14. dip — to sink
  15. mate — to breed
  16. dip — to dunk
  17. mate — a friend
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. drill — army training
  20. net — in sport
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. squash — to crush
  23. current — happening now
  24. row — a line

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