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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 · field · date · file · current · rash · pitcher · craft

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. net — after costs
  4. date — the fruit
  5. field — farmland
  6. craft — a skill
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. current — electric
  9. field — a subject
  10. file — a line of people
  11. rash — a series
  12. craft — boats
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. current — of water
  15. current — happening now
  16. rash — hasty
  17. field — for sport
  18. file — a tool
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. net — for catching
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. file — a document

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