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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 120 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: tube · cold · net · kick · snap · current · saw · club

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  3. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. kick — with a leg
  3. kick — in football
  4. saw — the tool
  5. cold — an illness
  6. tube — the underground
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. cold — not warm
  9. net — after costs
  10. club — for golf
  11. current — happening now
  12. club — for dancing
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. current — of water
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. club — a group
  18. snap — to click
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. net — in sport
  22. current — electric
  23. tube — a container
  24. saw — the tool

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