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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 · file · cold · rock · racket · mug · current · lie

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. current — of water
  3. net — in sport
  4. file — a tool
  5. current — happening now
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. mug — to rob
  9. mug — a face
  10. file — a document
  11. cold — not warm
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. mug — a cup
  14. file — a line of people
  15. rock — a stone
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. lie — to recline
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. net — for catching
  22. cold — an illness
  23. net — after costs
  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