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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: rock · current · field · tear · bore · perch · band · stick

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. tear — to rip
  3. field — a subject
  4. current — of water
  5. field — for sport
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. band — a music group
  8. perch — the fish
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. bore — to drill
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. bore — to tire
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. band — a ring
  15. tear — from crying
  16. rock — a stone
  17. current — electric
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. current — happening now
  20. tear — from crying
  21. field — farmland
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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