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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. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. track — a song
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. wound — an injury
  5. track — to keep track
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — farmland
  9. wound — an injury
  10. perch — the fish
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. squash — to crush
  13. chest — a box
  14. current — happening now
  15. chest — of your body
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. dip — to sink
  18. current — of water
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. track — a path
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. field — for sport
  23. squash — the sport
  24. chest — of your body

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