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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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. row — a line
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. row — to paddle
  6. spring — of water
  7. track — a song
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. field — farmland
  10. cell — a phone
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. track — to keep track
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. field — for sport
  16. field — a subject
  17. current — of water
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. fork — in a road
  20. spring — the season
  21. cell — in biology
  22. current — electric
  23. current — happening now
  24. spring — a coil

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