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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. field — a subject
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. current — happening now
  5. current — of water
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. bore — to tire
  8. row — to paddle
  9. pop — soda
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. row — a line
  12. current — electric
  13. field — for sport
  14. wax — for sculpting
  15. pop — to visit
  16. pop — music
  17. wax — to grow
  18. rock — a stone
  19. bore — gave birth
  20. bore — to drill
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. field — farmland
  24. row — a quarrel

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