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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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. current — of water
  4. cap — a lid
  5. shower — rain
  6. bass — low music
  7. field — a subject
  8. cap — a hat
  9. clip — a video
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. clip — to cut
  12. bass — the fish
  13. current — electric
  14. current — happening now
  15. shower — to wash
  16. field — farmland
  17. clip — for paper
  18. cap — of ice

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