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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: shower · ball · current · saw · bear · last · band · field

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The King held a masked ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  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. current — electric
  2. band — a ring
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. shower — to wash
  5. ball — a dance
  6. saw — the tool
  7. band — a music group
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. bear — the animal
  10. field — farmland
  11. field — a subject
  12. last — finally
  13. ball — a great time
  14. current — of water
  15. shower — rain
  16. bear — the animal
  17. band — a rubber band
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. saw — the tool
  20. last — to go on
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. current — happening now
  23. last — final
  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