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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: race · net · current · chest · cabinet · field · mouse · pop

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. pop — soda
  3. field — farmland
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. race — a contest
  6. race — humankind
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. net — for catching
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. current — of water
  11. field — for sport
  12. race — the arms race
  13. net — after costs
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. field — a subject
  16. pop — music
  17. current — happening now
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. chest — a box
  20. chest — of your body
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. pop — to visit
  23. current — electric
  24. chest — of your body

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