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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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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. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. current — happening now
  3. current — electric
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. rock — a stone
  7. field — farmland
  8. club — for dancing
  9. tear — to rip
  10. current — of water
  11. club — for golf
  12. row — to paddle
  13. rock — music
  14. field — a subject
  15. tear — from crying
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. row — a line
  20. club — a group
  21. stand — to bear
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. field — for sport
  24. tear — from crying

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