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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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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 had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. court — for sport
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. current — electric
  6. court — of law
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. current — happening now
  9. field — for sport
  10. trunk — of a tree
  11. club — for golf
  12. court — of a king
  13. date — the fruit
  14. current — of water
  15. field — a subject
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. wake — a trail
  18. club — a group
  19. row — a line
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. club — for dancing
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. field — farmland
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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