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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. My mare is ________________ in color.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. We're on a ________________ here.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. track — a song
  3. roll — a list
  4. field — a subject
  5. hand — help
  6. bay — a part of the sea
  7. field — for sport
  8. track — a path
  9. track — to keep track
  10. hand — in cards
  11. court — for sport
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. bay — a horse colour
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. field — farmland
  16. current — of water
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. roll — on a roll
  19. roll — a cake
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. court — of law
  22. current — happening now
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. court — of a king

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