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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: present · current · last · deal · craft · net · chest · cell

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. net — in sport
  3. deal — a big deal
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. last — final
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. chest — a box
  9. current — happening now
  10. present — a gift
  11. deal — to handle
  12. craft — a skill
  13. craft — boats
  14. net — after costs
  15. chest — of your body
  16. current — electric
  17. cell — a phone
  18. chest — of your body
  19. cell — in biology
  20. last — to go on
  21. present — the time now
  22. net — for catching
  23. last — finally
  24. present — there

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