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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. drill — army training
  3. pop — to visit
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. drill — a practice
  6. face — part of the head
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. bat — the animal
  9. field — for sport
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. current — electric
  13. capital — money
  14. field — a subject
  15. pop — music
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. face — to confront
  18. current — of water
  19. drill — the tool
  20. stand — to bear
  21. field — farmland
  22. capital — a city
  23. current — happening now
  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