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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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. face — part of the head
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. face — to confront
  5. current — happening now
  6. craft — a skill
  7. degree — from a university
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. net — for catching
  10. current — of water
  11. shower — rain
  12. degree — an amount
  13. ground — a position
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. current — electric
  16. shower — to wash
  17. mine — for digging
  18. craft — a handicraft
  19. face — to point toward
  20. ground — the earth
  21. craft — boats
  22. net — in sport
  23. degree — temperature
  24. ground — crushed

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