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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. field — farmland
  3. wound — an injury
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. mine — for digging
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. bass — the fish
  8. board — to get on
  9. current — of water
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. field — a subject
  12. current — happening now
  13. field — for sport
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. lean — thin
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. wound — an injury
  18. mark — a grade
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. mark — a trace
  21. current — electric
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. lean — to bend
  24. board — a committee

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