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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. deal — to handle
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. field — farmland
  6. field — a subject
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. content — happy
  9. race — the arms race
  10. file — a document
  11. current — electric
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. rock — a stone
  15. field — for sport
  16. current — happening now
  17. file — a tool
  18. race — humankind
  19. current — of water
  20. content — the amount
  21. pit — a hole
  22. file — a line of people
  23. race — a contest
  24. pit — in a race

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