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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Don't do anything ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. current — electric
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. face — part of the head
  5. field — for sport
  6. rest — what's left
  7. field — a subject
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. content — happy
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. rest — a break
  12. pound — a weight
  13. current — happening now
  14. saw — the tool
  15. content — the amount
  16. rest — what's left
  17. face — to point toward
  18. face — to confront
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. rash — hasty
  21. rash — a series
  22. saw — the tool
  23. field — farmland
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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