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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. wound — an injury
  4. stand — to bear
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. drill — a practice
  8. rock — a stone
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. current — electric
  11. stand — on your feet
  12. cap — of ice
  13. wound — an injury
  14. current — of water
  15. rock — music
  16. field — for sport
  17. drill — army training
  18. field — farmland
  19. cap — a lid
  20. bass — low music
  21. field — a subject
  22. cap — a hat
  23. bass — the fish
  24. drill — the tool

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