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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: kid · pitcher · current · march · mate · rush · pop · net

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. net — after costs
  3. current — happening now
  4. march — the month
  5. march — the month
  6. mate — to breed
  7. pop — music
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. current — of water
  12. rush — hurry
  13. net — in sport
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. mate — a partner
  16. march — music
  17. kid — to tease
  18. pop — to visit
  19. pop — soda
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. kid — child
  22. mate — a friend
  23. net — for catching
  24. current — electric

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