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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. current — happening now
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. band — a ring
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. net — after costs
  9. wake — a trail
  10. net — for catching
  11. band — a music group
  12. game — wild animals
  13. shower — rain
  14. current — of water
  15. shower — to wash
  16. kid — child
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. temple — side of the head
  19. current — electric
  20. kid — to tease
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. game — a match

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