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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: deal · land · lean · wave · current · field · pop · net

  1. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. land — a country
  4. land — to come down
  5. current — electric
  6. net — after costs
  7. pop — music
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. lean — to bend
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. land — ground
  12. field — farmland
  13. field — for sport
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. pop — soda
  16. net — in sport
  17. current — of water
  18. current — happening now
  19. field — a subject
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. net — for catching
  22. lean — thin
  23. deal — to handle
  24. deal — a big deal

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