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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Where did you ________________ them?
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. field — farmland
  3. mug — to rob
  4. bark — to shout
  5. scale — in music
  6. field — a subject
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. race — a contest
  9. field — for sport
  10. bass — low music
  11. mug — a cup
  12. mug — a face
  13. game — a match
  14. current — happening now
  15. current — electric
  16. scale — size or range
  17. game — wild animals
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. race — the arms race
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. race — humankind
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. bass — the fish
  24. scale — for weighing

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