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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cold · rash · swing · fine · current · stick · net · band

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Don't do anything ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. net — after costs
  3. band — a ring
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. rash — hasty
  6. cold — not warm
  7. swing — in golf
  8. fine — all right
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. swing — music
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. net — in sport
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. current — of water
  15. band — a music group
  16. swing — to play on
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. current — electric
  21. cold — an illness
  22. rash — a series
  23. fine — high quality
  24. net — for catching

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