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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 116 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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — to hurry
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. squash — the sport
  4. current — happening now
  5. field — farmland
  6. squash — to crush
  7. band — a ring
  8. rush — hurry
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. band — a music group
  12. swing — in golf
  13. swing — to play on
  14. present — a gift
  15. swing — music
  16. content — the amount
  17. field — for sport
  18. current — of water
  19. present — there
  20. field — a subject
  21. present — the time now
  22. current — electric
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. content — happy

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