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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: wake · pitch · kid · lie · current · row · craft · field

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. craft — a handicraft
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. current — happening now
  6. current — of water
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. lie — to recline
  9. field — farmland
  10. craft — boats
  11. field — a subject
  12. pitch — completely
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. wake — a trail
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — to tease
  17. row — a line
  18. field — for sport
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. craft — a skill
  23. row — to paddle
  24. lie — an untruth

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