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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. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. pop — soda
  3. firm — a company
  4. field — a subject
  5. field — for sport
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. firm — decided
  8. current — of water
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. wake — a trail
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. field — farmland
  14. bat — the animal
  15. firm — steady
  16. current — electric
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. current — happening now
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. pop — to visit
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. pop — music

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