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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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. current — of water
  3. charge — in control
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. current — electric
  6. charge — a price
  7. craft — boats
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. shower — to wash
  10. field — a subject
  11. charge — electricity
  12. current — happening now
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. kid — to tease
  15. shower — rain
  16. field — farmland
  17. ball — a dance
  18. kid — child
  19. field — for sport
  20. tube — a container
  21. craft — a skill
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. tube — the underground
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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