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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 · bark · pop · content · nail · scale · kid · current

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. pop — music
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. pop — soda
  5. content — the amount
  6. field — farmland
  7. scale — in music
  8. pop — to visit
  9. kid — to tease
  10. current — happening now
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. current — of water
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. field — for sport
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. scale — size or range
  18. current — electric
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. kid — child
  21. content — happy
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. field — a subject

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