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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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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: racket · bass · race · cell · current · perch · cold · net

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. cell — in biology
  5. net — in sport
  6. net — after costs
  7. cold — not warm
  8. current — of water
  9. bass — low music
  10. race — the arms race
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. race — humankind
  13. race — a contest
  14. current — electric
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. perch — the fish
  18. cell — a phone
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. current — happening now
  23. cold — an illness
  24. bass — the fish

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