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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. current — electric
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. spring — the season
  6. field — for sport
  7. march — music
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. march — the month
  10. rock — a stone
  11. field — farmland
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. spring — of water
  14. spring — a coil
  15. current — happening now
  16. present — there
  17. current — of water
  18. present — a gift
  19. field — a subject
  20. present — the time now
  21. march — the month
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. pound — a weight
  24. pound — to hit hard

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