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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: ball · bark · current · swing · pitcher · field · wind · sharp

  1. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — of water
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. field — a subject
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. field — farmland
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. swing — music
  12. swing — to play on
  13. field — for sport
  14. wind — moving air
  15. ball — a dance
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. current — happening now
  18. swing — in golf
  19. ball — a great time
  20. bark — to shout
  21. wind — moving air
  22. sharp — clever
  23. current — electric
  24. ball — a round shape

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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