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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. row — to paddle
  3. chest — a box
  4. land — to come down
  5. march — the month
  6. field — for sport
  7. tear — from crying
  8. pass — a permit
  9. field — a subject
  10. chest — of your body
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. field — farmland
  13. land — ground
  14. current — happening now
  15. march — music
  16. row — a line
  17. land — a country
  18. chest — of your body
  19. march — the month
  20. tear — to rip
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. tear — from crying
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. current — electric

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