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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 coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. pitch — completely
  4. field — a subject
  5. swing — to play on
  6. field — for sport
  7. current — of water
  8. current — happening now
  9. root — of a plant
  10. current — electric
  11. drill — a practice
  12. root — the cause
  13. field — farmland
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. file — a line of people
  16. file — a document
  17. drill — army training
  18. swing — music
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. root — of a word
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. file — a tool
  24. drill — the tool

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