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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. present — there
  3. net — after costs
  4. chip — for betting
  5. rush — hurry
  6. current — of water
  7. current — happening now
  8. net — for catching
  9. current — electric
  10. wound — an injury
  11. march — music
  12. march — the month
  13. chip — to eat
  14. present — the time now
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. march — the month
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. rush — to hurry
  20. net — in sport
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. present — a gift
  24. cabinet — ministers

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