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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. bear — the animal
  3. cold — an illness
  4. pop — to visit
  5. field — a subject
  6. bear — the animal
  7. capital — a city
  8. swing — in golf
  9. swing — music
  10. swing — to play on
  11. current — of water
  12. pop — soda
  13. capital — money
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. current — electric
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. pop — music
  19. cold — not warm
  20. field — for sport
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. current — happening now
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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