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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. roll — a cake
  3. pop — to visit
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. field — farmland
  7. face — to confront
  8. wound — an injury
  9. current — happening now
  10. current — of water
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. pop — music
  14. face — to point toward
  15. face — part of the head
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. roll — a list
  18. wound — an injury
  19. field — for sport
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. pop — soda
  22. bark — to shout
  23. field — a subject
  24. fan — a supporter

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