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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. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. net — for catching
  3. current — happening now
  4. clip — a video
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. current — electric
  7. net — after costs
  8. field — a subject
  9. firm — a company
  10. swing — music
  11. firm — steady
  12. field — for sport
  13. current — of water
  14. firm — decided
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — to cut
  17. board — a flat piece
  18. swing — in golf
  19. board — to get on
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. swing — to play on
  22. field — farmland
  23. dip — to sink
  24. net — in sport

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