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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 120 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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. field — farmland
  3. ground — the earth
  4. band — a music group
  5. wake — to stop sleeping
  6. wake — a trail
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. pound — a weight
  9. ground — a position
  10. field — a subject
  11. kick — in football
  12. current — happening now
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. ground — crushed
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. band — a ring
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. current — of water
  22. dip — to sink
  23. field — for sport
  24. kick — a thrill

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