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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 120 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. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. field — for sport
  4. pop — music
  5. current — of water
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. rule — government
  8. field — a subject
  9. pop — soda
  10. drill — a practice
  11. rule — a law
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. drill — army training
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. drill — the tool
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. wave — of the sea
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. current — electric
  22. pop — to visit
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. current — happening now

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