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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. plane — a tool
  3. track — a song
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. spring — of water
  6. track — to keep track
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. row — to paddle
  11. spring — a coil
  12. wake — a trail
  13. field — a subject
  14. field — for sport
  15. current — happening now
  16. current — of water
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. row — a line
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. current — electric
  22. field — farmland
  23. spring — the season
  24. nail — for a hammer

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