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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. current — of water
  3. last — final
  4. field — a subject
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. field — farmland
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. kick — in football
  10. spell — magic
  11. stock — shares
  12. spell — letters
  13. march — music
  14. current — happening now
  15. spell — a short time
  16. march — the month
  17. last — finally
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. last — to go on
  20. current — electric
  21. stock — goods
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. march — the month
  24. racket — for tennis

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