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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. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. game — a match
  4. file — a tool
  5. file — a document
  6. current — happening now
  7. fall — to drop
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. perch — the fish
  10. current — electric
  11. bass — low music
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. bass — the fish
  15. game — wild animals
  16. field — farmland
  17. fall — the season
  18. file — a line of people
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. field — for sport
  23. field — a subject
  24. current — of water

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