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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. swing — music
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. plane — a tool
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. roll — a cake
  9. current — of water
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. cold — not warm
  12. roll — a list
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. swing — to play on
  15. swing — in golf
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. field — a subject
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. field — for sport
  20. bore — to tire
  21. cold — an illness
  22. current — happening now
  23. bore — to drill
  24. field — farmland

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