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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — finally
  3. current — electric
  4. field — farmland
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. prune — to trim
  8. rush — hurry
  9. rock — music
  10. field — for sport
  11. chair — a leader
  12. current — happening now
  13. rock — a stone
  14. face — to confront
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. face — part of the head
  17. prune — to trim
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. current — of water
  20. last — to go on
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. field — a subject
  24. face — to point toward

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