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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. toast — bread
  3. season — of the year
  4. current — happening now
  5. firm — steady
  6. current — electric
  7. march — the month
  8. lean — thin
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. lean — to bend
  11. field — farmland
  12. march — the month
  13. row — a line
  14. field — for sport
  15. field — a subject
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. firm — decided
  18. toast — a drink to someone
  19. season — in sport
  20. firm — a company
  21. toast — the most admired
  22. march — music
  23. row — to paddle
  24. current — of water

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