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

  1. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. field — for sport
  4. current — happening now
  5. lean — to bend
  6. swing — in golf
  7. bulb — for light
  8. swing — music
  9. bulb — for light
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. land — to come down
  12. field — farmland
  13. mark — a trace
  14. land — ground
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. swing — to play on
  17. mark — a grade
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. lean — thin
  20. current — electric
  21. field — a subject
  22. current — of water
  23. land — a country
  24. rash — a series

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