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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 116 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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. band — a ring
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. degree — an amount
  5. bore — to tire
  6. bass — low music
  7. field — farmland
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. current — of water
  10. field — a subject
  11. degree — temperature
  12. face — to point toward
  13. face — to confront
  14. pitch — completely
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. field — for sport
  17. band — a music group
  18. bore — to drill
  19. degree — from a university
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. current — electric
  23. bass — the fish
  24. face — part of the head

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