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

Word bank: field · content · bass · kick · wind · vault · current · row

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. current — of water
  3. field — farmland
  4. row — a line
  5. content — happy
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. bass — low music
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. bass — the fish
  10. wind — moving air
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. current — happening now
  13. wind — moving air
  14. current — electric
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. field — a subject
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. row — to paddle
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. vault — a safe
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. content — the amount
  24. field — for sport

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