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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  9. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. current — of water
  3. field — a subject
  4. track — to keep track
  5. field — for sport
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. spell — letters
  8. dip — to sink
  9. branch — of a tree
  10. current — happening now
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. current — electric
  13. branch — a division
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. spell — magic
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. field — farmland
  21. spell — a short time
  22. perch — the fish
  23. track — a song
  24. wake — a trail

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