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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. plane — in geometry
  3. field — farmland
  4. plane — a tool
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. pop — to visit
  7. last — finally
  8. current — happening now
  9. pop — music
  10. field — a subject
  11. field — for sport
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. row — to paddle
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. current — electric
  16. last — to go on
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. file — a tool
  19. current — of water
  20. file — a line of people
  21. pop — soda
  22. pitch — completely
  23. row — a line
  24. file — a document

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