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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: current · mine · snap · scale · land · net · tear · chair

  1. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. mine — for digging
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. tear — to rip
  7. snap — to click
  8. scale — in music
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. net — for catching
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. land — to come down
  13. current — happening now
  14. net — in sport
  15. current — electric
  16. tear — from crying
  17. land — a country
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. tear — from crying
  20. land — ground
  21. current — of water
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. chair — a leader
  24. net — after costs

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