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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  20. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. band — a ring
  3. chip — to eat
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. field — a subject
  6. capital — money
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. current — happening now
  9. field — farmland
  10. current — electric
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. pop — soda
  13. pop — music
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. chip — for betting
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. current — of water
  19. snap — to click
  20. hide — animal skin
  21. capital — a city
  22. band — a music group
  23. field — for sport
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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