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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. field — a subject
  3. track — a song
  4. prune — to trim
  5. prune — to trim
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. ground — a position
  9. ground — crushed
  10. mark — a trace
  11. current — happening now
  12. bark — to shout
  13. ground — the earth
  14. field — farmland
  15. row — to paddle
  16. mark — a grade
  17. track — to keep track
  18. current — electric
  19. track — a path
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. current — of water
  22. bark — a dog's sound
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. row — a line

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