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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. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. There's no middle ________________.
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. current — happening now
  4. current — of water
  5. bore — to tire
  6. bore — to drill
  7. ground — crushed
  8. field — for sport
  9. bark — to shout
  10. ground — a position
  11. season — of the year
  12. swing — in golf
  13. field — farmland
  14. hand — in cards
  15. swing — music
  16. season — in sport
  17. swing — to play on
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. hand — help
  22. ground — the earth
  23. field — a subject
  24. bark — of a tree

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