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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 124 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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. last — final
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — a subject
  5. game — a match
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. current — of water
  8. current — electric
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. chair — a leader
  11. pound — a weight
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. mate — a partner
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. last — finally
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. current — happening now
  19. game — wild animals
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. mate — to breed
  22. mate — a friend
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. last — to go on

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