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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. kid — to tease
  3. key — for a lock
  4. net — for catching
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. wound — an injury
  7. lean — thin
  8. net — in sport
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. net — after costs
  11. kid — child
  12. ground — crushed
  13. ground — the earth
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. lean — to bend
  16. key — in music
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. current — electric
  19. ground — a position
  20. current — happening now
  21. wound — an injury
  22. current — of water
  23. key — the most important part
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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