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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The ball is in your ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. season — of the year
  3. net — after costs
  4. current — electric
  5. net — for catching
  6. drill — the tool
  7. march — the month
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. court — of law
  10. hand — help
  11. march — music
  12. drill — a practice
  13. march — the month
  14. drill — army training
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. season — in sport
  17. current — happening now
  18. net — in sport
  19. hand — in cards
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. court — for sport
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. court — of a king
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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