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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: current · net · wound · swing · tear · toast

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. current — electric
  3. tear — to rip
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. current — happening now
  6. net — after costs
  7. wound — an injury
  8. tear — from crying
  9. swing — to play on
  10. wound — an injury
  11. tear — from crying
  12. net — in sport
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. current — of water
  15. swing — music
  16. toast — bread
  17. net — for catching
  18. swing — in golf

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