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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 120 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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. current — happening now
  4. current — of water
  5. ruler — for measuring
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. band — a music group
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. net — for catching
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. swing — in golf
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. wound — an injury
  17. current — electric
  18. swing — music
  19. swing — to play on
  20. content — happy
  21. net — after costs
  22. net — in sport
  23. content — the amount
  24. wound — an injury

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