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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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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: swing · chip · current · tear · wake · field · ground · stand

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. tear — from crying
  3. field — a subject
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. tear — from crying
  6. field — for sport
  7. wake — a trail
  8. tear — to rip
  9. ground — a position
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. current — electric
  12. current — happening now
  13. chip — to eat
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. swing — in golf
  16. swing — to play on
  17. field — farmland
  18. ground — crushed
  19. current — of water
  20. chip — for betting
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. ground — the earth
  23. stand — to bear
  24. stand — for spectators

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