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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. current — of water
  3. mate — a friend
  4. race — a contest
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. field — for sport
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. land — to come down
  9. pop — music
  10. mate — a partner
  11. pop — to visit
  12. pop — soda
  13. shower — rain
  14. pound — a weight
  15. land — ground
  16. current — electric
  17. land — a country
  18. shower — to wash
  19. current — happening now
  20. race — the arms race
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. race — humankind
  23. field — a subject
  24. mate — to breed

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