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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. The water is too ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — an illness
  3. current — happening now
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. wave — with your hand
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. rock — a stone
  8. mark — a trace
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. mark — a grade
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. pound — a weight
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — a subject
  17. current — electric
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. current — of water
  23. field — for sport
  24. rock — music

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