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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 120 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 sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. scale — size or range
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. row — a line
  10. scale — in music
  11. field — farmland
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. deal — to handle
  14. current — happening now
  15. row — to paddle
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. current — electric
  18. field — a subject
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. foot — a measure
  23. field — for sport
  24. current — of water

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