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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. current — electric
  3. rock — a stone
  4. field — a subject
  5. field — farmland
  6. court — for sport
  7. cell — a phone
  8. content — happy
  9. can — a tin
  10. court — of a king
  11. rock — music
  12. track — a path
  13. cell — in biology
  14. current — happening now
  15. can — to be able to
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. field — for sport
  18. can — a tin
  19. current — of water
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. track — to keep track
  22. court — of law
  23. track — a song
  24. content — the amount

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