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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. net — in sport
  3. press — to push
  4. current — electric
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. ground — a position
  9. wake — a trail
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. track — to keep track
  12. date — the fruit
  13. track — a path
  14. net — for catching
  15. current — of water
  16. press — newspapers
  17. track — a song
  18. ground — the earth
  19. game — wild animals
  20. press — a publisher
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. net — after costs
  23. game — a match
  24. ground — crushed

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