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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 116 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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. game — wild animals
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. shower — rain
  6. cap — a hat
  7. field — farmland
  8. current — of water
  9. cap — a lid
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. current — electric
  12. game — a match
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. field — for sport
  16. field — a subject
  17. current — happening now
  18. track — to keep track
  19. cap — of ice
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. track — a path
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. shower — to wash
  24. pound — a weight

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