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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. land — to come down
  3. perch — the fish
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. row — to paddle
  6. field — for sport
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. field — a subject
  9. row — a line
  10. track — a path
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. current — electric
  13. roll — a cake
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. chip — for betting
  16. field — farmland
  17. chip — to eat
  18. land — ground
  19. land — a country
  20. track — to keep track
  21. current — of water
  22. roll — a list
  23. current — happening now
  24. track — a song

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