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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. present — there
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. field — farmland
  5. spring — the season
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. band — a music group
  8. cell — a phone
  9. current — happening now
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. present — the time now
  12. current — of water
  13. cell — in biology
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. spring — a coil
  16. band — a ring
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. spring — of water
  21. field — a subject
  22. current — electric
  23. present — a gift
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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