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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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. The tickets are free of ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. face — to confront
  3. field — for sport
  4. shower — rain
  5. charge — electricity
  6. shower — to wash
  7. charge — in control
  8. band — a ring
  9. face — to point toward
  10. bear — the animal
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. charge — a price
  15. bear — the animal
  16. field — farmland
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. band — a music group
  19. current — electric
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. field — a subject
  22. face — part of the head
  23. current — of water
  24. mine — for digging

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