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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're on a ________________ here.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — on a roll
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. field — farmland
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. pass — to succeed
  7. sharp — clever
  8. roll — a list
  9. court — for sport
  10. field — a subject
  11. court — of law
  12. current — electric
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. field — for sport
  16. court — of a king
  17. cold — not warm
  18. current — happening now
  19. cold — an illness
  20. current — of water
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. pass — a permit
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. roll — a cake

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