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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. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Have you found your soul ________________?
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. season — in sport
  2. track — a path
  3. mate — a partner
  4. track — a song
  5. field — a subject
  6. vault — in gymnastics
  7. row — a line
  8. current — electric
  9. season — of the year
  10. mate — a friend
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. last — finally
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. row — to paddle
  15. field — farmland
  16. last — to go on
  17. mate — to breed
  18. current — happening now
  19. last — final
  20. track — to keep track
  21. current — of water
  22. field — for sport
  23. vault — a safe
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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