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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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. How do you ________________ your surname?
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. current — electric
  4. cap — of ice
  5. spell — magic
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. net — after costs
  10. current — of water
  11. spell — letters
  12. cap — a hat
  13. scale — size or range
  14. mate — a partner
  15. mate — to breed
  16. spring — the season
  17. current — happening now
  18. spell — a short time
  19. cap — a lid
  20. mate — a friend
  21. scale — in music
  22. net — for catching
  23. spring — of water
  24. spring — a coil

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