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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: field · row · current · pop · press · calf · deal · last

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. press — to push
  5. deal — an agreement
  6. current — electric
  7. pop — soda
  8. last — final
  9. current — happening now
  10. last — to go on
  11. current — of water
  12. row — a line
  13. deal — to handle
  14. field — a subject
  15. last — finally
  16. field — farmland
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. press — a publisher
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. pop — music
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. row — to paddle
  23. press — newspapers
  24. pop — to visit

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