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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'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. current — electric
  4. track — to keep track
  5. current — happening now
  6. tube — a container
  7. bulb — for light
  8. cell — a phone
  9. field — for sport
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. wound — an injury
  13. current — of water
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. wound — an injury
  16. cell — in biology
  17. track — a song
  18. field — farmland
  19. bulb — for light
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. track — a path
  22. plane — a tool
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. field — a subject

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