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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: cold · pop · band · current · present · hide · field · calf

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. band — a ring
  6. present — a gift
  7. field — a subject
  8. cold — not warm
  9. pop — to visit
  10. pop — music
  11. current — of water
  12. current — happening now
  13. field — farmland
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. present — the time now
  16. pop — soda
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. present — there
  19. cold — an illness
  20. current — electric
  21. band — a music group
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. field — for sport

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