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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. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. The King held a masked ________________.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. field — farmland
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. trunk — of a car
  5. net — in sport
  6. swing — to play on
  7. current — happening now
  8. ball — a dance
  9. net — after costs
  10. ball — a great time
  11. current — electric
  12. content — the amount
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. content — happy
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. field — a subject
  20. net — for catching
  21. field — for sport
  22. swing — music
  23. swing — in golf
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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