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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. net — after costs
  3. club — for dancing
  4. cap — a lid
  5. bound — certain
  6. net — in sport
  7. game — a match
  8. bound — obliged
  9. club — a group
  10. spring — a coil
  11. spring — the season
  12. bound — tied together
  13. club — for golf
  14. chip — in a computer
  15. current — happening now
  16. chip — to eat
  17. cap — of ice
  18. cap — a hat
  19. net — for catching
  20. spring — of water
  21. current — of water
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. chip — for betting
  24. current — electric

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