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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. drill — the tool
  3. track — to keep track
  4. spring — of water
  5. net — after costs
  6. bark — to shout
  7. track — a path
  8. drill — army training
  9. net — for catching
  10. current — electric
  11. spring — a coil
  12. press — newspapers
  13. drill — a practice
  14. track — a song
  15. press — to push
  16. press — a publisher
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. net — in sport
  19. spring — the season
  20. capital — a city
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. current — happening now
  23. capital — money
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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