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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 120 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. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  18. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. field — a subject
  3. ruler — for measuring
  4. chest — of your body
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. current — electric
  7. field — farmland
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. ruler — a monarch
  10. degree — temperature
  11. chest — a box
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. current — of water
  14. degree — from a university
  15. degree — an amount
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. chest — of your body
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. stock — shares
  21. field — for sport
  22. stock — goods
  23. bass — low music
  24. bass — the fish

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