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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. roll — a cake
  3. content — happy
  4. current — electric
  5. track — a path
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. foot — the bottom
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. field — a subject
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. field — for sport
  12. track — to keep track
  13. foot — a measure
  14. current — happening now
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. field — farmland
  17. content — the amount
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. roll — a list
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. track — a song
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. current — of water

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