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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Did you ________________ the meat?
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. current — electric
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. field — for sport
  8. field — a subject
  9. current — of water
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. shower — to wash
  12. season — of the year
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. season — in sport
  15. shower — rain
  16. current — happening now
  17. bass — low music
  18. field — farmland
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. season — to add flavour
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. bass — the fish
  24. fork — in a road

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