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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: net · ground · object · tear · current · cold · saw · date

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  22. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. date — the fruit
  3. tear — from crying
  4. ground — a position
  5. net — for catching
  6. cold — not warm
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. saw — the tool
  9. net — after costs
  10. tear — from crying
  11. ground — crushed
  12. cold — an illness
  13. net — in sport
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. tear — to rip
  16. current — electric
  17. object — an aim
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. current — happening now
  20. ground — the earth
  21. object — a thing
  22. object — to protest
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. saw — the tool

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