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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. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. chip — in a computer
  2. field — farmland
  3. current — of water
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. band — a music group
  6. current — happening now
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. net — for catching
  9. chip — for betting
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. wound — an injury
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. field — a subject
  14. wound — an injury
  15. current — electric
  16. field — for sport
  17. net — in sport
  18. stock — shares
  19. band — a ring
  20. chip — to eat
  21. stock — goods
  22. pound — a weight
  23. pound — for dogs
  24. net — after costs

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