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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. rash — a series
  5. bulb — for light
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. fall — to drop
  8. chair — a leader
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. current — electric
  11. field — farmland
  12. field — for sport
  13. rash — hasty
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. wake — a trail
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. fall — to drop
  19. bulb — for light
  20. fall — the season
  21. chair — a professorship
  22. current — happening now
  23. current — of water
  24. chair — to sit on

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