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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 120 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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. mate — a partner
  3. current — electric
  4. track — a song
  5. track — to keep track
  6. field — for sport
  7. field — farmland
  8. current — happening now
  9. mate — a friend
  10. current — of water
  11. bore — to drill
  12. mate — to breed
  13. hand — in cards
  14. hand — help
  15. field — a subject
  16. track — a path
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. bore — to tire
  19. bound — certain
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. bore — gave birth
  22. bound — obliged
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. bound — tied together

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