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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. stock — shares
  3. mate — to breed
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. current — electric
  7. current — happening now
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. net — in sport
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. net — after costs
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. mate — a partner
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. stock — goods
  17. field — for sport
  18. perch — the fish
  19. mate — a friend
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. field — a subject
  22. net — for catching
  23. field — farmland
  24. straw — a straw man

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