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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. lash — an eyelash
  6. press — to push
  7. roll — a cake
  8. field — for sport
  9. press — a publisher
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. roll — a list
  12. current — of water
  13. press — newspapers
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. field — a subject
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. game — a match
  19. game — wild animals
  20. current — happening now
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. fork — in a road
  23. field — farmland
  24. pitcher — a jug

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