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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. net — after costs
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. wound — an injury
  5. squash — to crush
  6. kid — child
  7. net — in sport
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. squash — the sport
  12. stand — to bear
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. current — electric
  16. kid — to tease
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. current — of water
  21. date — the fruit
  22. wound — an injury
  23. net — for catching
  24. squash — the vegetable

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