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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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. stem — to come from
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. field — for sport
  5. current — of water
  6. game — a match
  7. squash — the sport
  8. swing — to play on
  9. swing — in golf
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. fall — the season
  13. field — farmland
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. game — wild animals
  16. fall — to drop
  17. scale — size or range
  18. field — a subject
  19. current — electric
  20. squash — to crush
  21. fall — to drop
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. swing — music
  24. current — happening now

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