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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. net — for catching
  3. current — electric
  4. current — of water
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. net — in sport
  8. track — a song
  9. saw — the tool
  10. track — a path
  11. rush — hurry
  12. staff — employees
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. file — a line of people
  15. rush — a thrill
  16. branch — of a bank
  17. saw — the tool
  18. file — a tool
  19. staff — employees
  20. current — happening now
  21. file — a document
  22. branch — a division
  23. track — to keep track
  24. net — after costs

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