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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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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: mouse · net · mate · current · cap · toast · stick · ground

  1. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  2. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. toast — a drink to someone
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. cap — a hat
  5. cap — of ice
  6. cap — a lid
  7. mate — a partner
  8. ground — the earth
  9. mate — a friend
  10. toast — bread
  11. current — happening now
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. ground — crushed
  14. current — of water
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. mate — to breed
  17. net — in sport
  18. net — after costs
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. net — for catching
  21. ground — a position
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. current — electric
  24. mouse — for a computer

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