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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. net — after costs
  3. bass — low music
  4. shower — to wash
  5. net — for catching
  6. pitch — completely
  7. current — of water
  8. prune — to trim
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. bulb — for light
  11. net — in sport
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. band — a music group
  15. bulb — for light
  16. shower — rain
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. current — happening now
  19. current — electric
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. band — a ring
  22. prune — to trim
  23. prune — the fruit
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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