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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. bark — to shout
  3. file — a tool
  4. march — music
  5. land — ground
  6. field — farmland
  7. land — to come down
  8. field — a subject
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. file — a document
  11. file — a line of people
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. land — a country
  14. field — for sport
  15. ball — a great time
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. march — the month
  19. march — the month
  20. current — happening now
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. ball — a dance
  23. current — of water
  24. ball — a round shape

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