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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 116 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: wind · land · pop · current · field · bass · bulb · fall

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. bass — low music
  3. fall — to drop
  4. current — happening now
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. current — electric
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. fall — to drop
  10. land — a country
  11. pop — to visit
  12. land — ground
  13. field — for sport
  14. land — to come down
  15. bulb — for light
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. pop — soda
  18. field — farmland
  19. current — of water
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bass — the fish
  22. fall — the season
  23. wind — moving air
  24. pop — music

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