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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 116 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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  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. net — for catching
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. current — electric
  4. shower — rain
  5. fine — all right
  6. game — wild animals
  7. shower — to wash
  8. pound — a weight
  9. current — of water
  10. clip — to cut
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. game — a match
  13. season — in sport
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. current — happening now
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. fine — high quality
  18. clip — a video
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. clip — for paper
  21. season — of the year
  22. net — in sport
  23. pound — to hit hard
  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