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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. field — a subject
  3. current — of water
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. pitch — completely
  6. ball — a dance
  7. kid — child
  8. kid — to tease
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. stand — to bear
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. wake — a trail
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. ball — a great time
  19. field — farmland
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. field — for sport
  22. pound — a weight
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. current — happening now

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