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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. object — to protest
  6. mine — for digging
  7. prune — to trim
  8. current — happening now
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. object — an aim
  11. current — electric
  12. field — for sport
  13. present — a gift
  14. field — farmland
  15. object — a thing
  16. prune — to trim
  17. wound — an injury
  18. bass — low music
  19. bass — the fish
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. present — the time now
  23. current — of water
  24. field — a subject

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