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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. stem — to come from
  3. swing — music
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. fork — in a road
  6. current — of water
  7. pound — a weight
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. swing — in golf
  10. content — the amount
  11. content — happy
  12. current — happening now
  13. swing — to play on
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. hand — in cards
  17. hand — help
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. fork — a garden tool
  21. rock — a stone
  22. current — electric
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. content — videos and posts

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