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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. last — to go on
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. field — a subject
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. field — farmland
  9. dip — a sauce
  10. last — final
  11. field — for sport
  12. current — of water
  13. current — happening now
  14. last — finally
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. fork — in a road
  17. kid — child
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. kid — to tease
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. bark — to shout
  24. dip — to sink

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