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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. current — happening now
  3. land — to come down
  4. stem — to come from
  5. current — of water
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. land — ground
  8. track — to keep track
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. last — to go on
  11. date — the fruit
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. track — a path
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. current — electric
  18. last — finally
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. last — final
  21. capital — money
  22. land — a country
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. capital — a city

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