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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. field — for sport
  4. current — happening now
  5. field — a subject
  6. current — electric
  7. drill — the tool
  8. dip — to sink
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. current — of water
  11. drill — army training
  12. mine — for digging
  13. wound — an injury
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. field — farmland
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. mark — a grade
  20. drill — a practice
  21. wound — an injury
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. mark — a trace
  24. dip — a sauce

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