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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. current — electric
  4. staff — employees
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. pound — a weight
  8. net — for catching
  9. current — happening now
  10. net — in sport
  11. foot — the bottom
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. staff — a stick
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. staff — employees
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. mine — for digging
  21. current — of water
  22. wake — a trail
  23. foot — a measure
  24. foot — part of the body

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