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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. squash — to crush
  3. bass — the fish
  4. kid — child
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. file — a tool
  8. rock — a stone
  9. rock — to move gently
  10. stand — to bear
  11. squash — the sport
  12. current — of water
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. kid — to tease
  15. current — happening now
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. field — a subject
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. file — a document
  20. bass — low music
  21. current — electric
  22. field — for sport
  23. file — a line of people
  24. field — farmland

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