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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  18. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. shower — to wash
  4. field — a subject
  5. current — of water
  6. current — electric
  7. pit — in a race
  8. branch — a division
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. lean — to bend
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. chip — to eat
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. field — for sport
  15. key — for a lock
  16. field — farmland
  17. chip — for betting
  18. lean — to rest against
  19. current — happening now
  20. shower — rain
  21. lean — thin
  22. pit — a hole
  23. key — the most important part
  24. chip — in a computer

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