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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 116 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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. lean — thin
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. net — for catching
  5. current — of water
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. field — farmland
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. current — electric
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. game — wild animals
  14. field — for sport
  15. field — a subject
  16. current — happening now
  17. lean — to bend
  18. wave — with your hand
  19. net — in sport
  20. game — a match
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. net — after costs
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. band — a music group

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