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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. net — for catching
  3. net — after costs
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. current — happening now
  6. field — a subject
  7. mine — for digging
  8. hand — help
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. field — for sport
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. bulb — for light
  13. hand — in cards
  14. swing — to play on
  15. net — in sport
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. swing — in golf
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. current — electric
  21. bulb — for light
  22. current — of water
  23. field — farmland
  24. branch — a division

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