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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. roll — a list
  3. roll — a cake
  4. game — wild animals
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. pound — for dogs
  7. bear — the animal
  8. current — happening now
  9. game — a match
  10. pound — a weight
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. current — electric
  14. bear — the animal
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. field — farmland
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. snap — to click
  22. field — a subject
  23. snap — to speak sharply
  24. current — of water

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