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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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Did you ________________ the meat?
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. track — a path
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. field — a subject
  6. season — to add flavour
  7. march — the month
  8. field — for sport
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. staff — a stick
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. current — of water
  13. track — to keep track
  14. track — a song
  15. march — the month
  16. march — music
  17. staff — employees
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. current — happening now
  20. fork — in a road
  21. field — farmland
  22. season — of the year
  23. season — in sport
  24. current — electric

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