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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. cue — for pool
  3. current — happening now
  4. cue — a signal
  5. track — a path
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. rash — a series
  8. march — the month
  9. field — farmland
  10. march — the month
  11. saw — the tool
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. field — a subject
  14. cue — a hint
  15. saw — the tool
  16. march — music
  17. field — for sport
  18. track — a song
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. current — of water
  21. track — to keep track
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. current — electric
  24. rash — hasty

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