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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. pound — a weight
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. current — electric
  5. club — for dancing
  6. wind — moving air
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. prune — to trim
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. current — happening now
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. club — for golf
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. wind — moving air
  17. club — a group
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. prune — to trim
  22. field — a subject
  23. current — of water
  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