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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. net — in sport
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. chest — of your body
  8. squash — the sport
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. squash — to crush
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. chest — of your body
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. current — happening now
  16. net — after costs
  17. net — for catching
  18. file — a tool
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. current — of water
  21. chest — a box
  22. file — a document
  23. mine — for digging
  24. file — a line of people

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