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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 · rest · bound · firm · kid · capital · trunk · net

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  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. firm — a company
  2. net — after costs
  3. rest — what's left
  4. net — in sport
  5. firm — steady
  6. rest — a break
  7. rest — what's left
  8. bound — certain
  9. kid — child
  10. bound — tied together
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. current — electric
  13. kid — to tease
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. firm — decided
  16. bound — obliged
  17. current — happening now
  18. capital — money
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. trunk — of a tree
  21. capital — a city
  22. current — of water
  23. trunk — of a car
  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