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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. track — a song
  3. track — to keep track
  4. current — happening now
  5. current — of water
  6. current — electric
  7. sharp — clever
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. march — the month
  10. last — final
  11. track — a path
  12. shower — to wash
  13. march — music
  14. last — to go on
  15. net — after costs
  16. march — the month
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. field — a subject
  19. net — for catching
  20. net — in sport
  21. field — for sport
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. last — finally
  24. field — farmland

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