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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. net — in sport
  3. wax — to grow
  4. current — of water
  5. mate — to breed
  6. mate — a partner
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. rash — a series
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. mate — a friend
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. race — a contest
  13. rash — hasty
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. race — the arms race
  16. snap — to click
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. race — humankind
  20. current — happening now
  21. current — electric
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. net — for catching
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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