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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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. field — farmland
  3. band — a music group
  4. current — happening now
  5. fine — all right
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. current — electric
  9. cold — an illness
  10. band — a ring
  11. net — for catching
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. fine — high quality
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. current — of water
  16. perch — the fish
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. field — for sport
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. net — after costs
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. cold — not warm
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. net — in sport

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