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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. board — a committee
  3. board — to get on
  4. field — a subject
  5. field — farmland
  6. current — happening now
  7. current — electric
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. club — for dancing
  11. cold — an illness
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. roll — a list
  14. field — for sport
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. current — of water
  17. club — for golf
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. cold — not warm
  20. roll — a cake
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. club — a group
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. fan — a supporter

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