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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. net — for catching
  3. net — after costs
  4. bass — the fish
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. mate — to breed
  7. net — in sport
  8. court — of a king
  9. bass — low music
  10. game — wild animals
  11. mate — a friend
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. current — of water
  14. court — for sport
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. mate — a partner
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. band — a music group
  19. band — a ring
  20. game — a match
  21. court — of law
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. current — happening now
  24. current — electric

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