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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: club · squash · rush · current · lie · mouse · net · cell

  1. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. current — of water
  3. club — for dancing
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. squash — the sport
  6. cell — a phone
  7. lie — to recline
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. club — for golf
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. club — a group
  12. cell — in biology
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. squash — to crush
  15. net — for catching
  16. current — electric
  17. net — after costs
  18. net — in sport
  19. rush — hurry
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. rush — a thrill

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