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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. field — for sport
  4. current — of water
  5. file — a document
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. season — in sport
  8. season — of the year
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. current — electric
  12. file — a line of people
  13. field — a subject
  14. bass — the fish
  15. bass — low music
  16. shower — rain
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. field — farmland
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. sharp — clever
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. current — happening now
  24. shower — to wash

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