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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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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: fine · clip · current · net · game · season

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. game — a match
  3. net — after costs
  4. clip — for paper
  5. current — of water
  6. current — happening now
  7. game — wild animals
  8. season — in sport
  9. clip — a video
  10. net — for catching
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. fine — high quality
  13. fine — all right
  14. clip — to cut
  15. net — in sport
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. season — of the year
  18. current — electric

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