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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: cap · bound · swing · chair · current · ground · field · date

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. date — the fruit
  4. ground — a position
  5. field — farmland
  6. bound — certain
  7. field — for sport
  8. cap — a lid
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. ground — the earth
  11. ground — crushed
  12. swing — in golf
  13. bound — tied together
  14. cap — a hat
  15. cap — of ice
  16. swing — music
  17. current — happening now
  18. current — of water
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. field — a subject
  22. bound — obliged
  23. swing — to play on
  24. chair — a leader

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