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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 124 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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. current — of water
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. bulb — for light
  5. bass — low music
  6. field — farmland
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. spring — a coil
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. lean — thin
  11. current — electric
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. stem — to come from
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. spring — the season
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. bulb — for light
  18. spring — of water
  19. lean — to bend
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. current — happening now
  22. field — a subject
  23. bass — the fish
  24. lean — to rest against

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