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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. current — of water
  3. field — for sport
  4. board — to get on
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. stock — shares
  7. field — a subject
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. drill — the tool
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. present — there
  12. board — a committee
  13. field — farmland
  14. current — electric
  15. wind — moving air
  16. present — the time now
  17. drill — a practice
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. stock — goods
  20. current — happening now
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. present — a gift
  24. drill — army training

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