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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: present · cap · current · plane · hide · field · rush · stick

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  7. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. That must've been a ________________.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. current — of water
  4. rush — hurry
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. current — electric
  8. field — farmland
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. current — happening now
  11. field — a subject
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. present — the time now
  16. present — there
  17. plane — a tool
  18. field — for sport
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. cap — a hat
  22. cap — a lid
  23. rush — a thrill
  24. cap — of ice

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