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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. current — happening now
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. field — for sport
  5. squash — the sport
  6. clip — to cut
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. clip — a video
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. branch — a division
  12. field — a subject
  13. season — in sport
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. current — electric
  16. clip — for paper
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. rush — hurry
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. squash — to crush
  23. season — of the year
  24. field — farmland

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