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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. The ________________ took off on time.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. plane — an aircraft
  3. swing — music
  4. pop — soda
  5. swing — in golf
  6. current — of water
  7. field — farmland
  8. tear — from crying
  9. last — to go on
  10. tear — from crying
  11. pop — to visit
  12. last — final
  13. plane — a tool
  14. current — happening now
  15. current — electric
  16. swing — to play on
  17. tear — to rip
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. file — a line of people
  20. field — for sport
  21. pop — music
  22. file — a document
  23. file — a tool
  24. field — a subject

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