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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. current — happening now
  4. present — a gift
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. current — electric
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. current — of water
  11. present — there
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. game — a match
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. stem — to come from
  18. net — for catching
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. present — the time now
  21. net — after costs
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. net — in sport
  24. hide — animal skin

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