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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: current · pound · game · land · swing · field · net · mouse

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. field — a subject
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. land — ground
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. swing — in golf
  9. current — of water
  10. field — farmland
  11. land — to come down
  12. net — in sport
  13. swing — to play on
  14. swing — music
  15. current — happening now
  16. net — after costs
  17. game — wild animals
  18. field — for sport
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. net — for catching
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. game — a match
  23. current — electric
  24. pound — a weight

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