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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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. field — a subject
  3. mine — for digging
  4. squash — the vegetable
  5. shower — to wash
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. shower — rain
  8. pop — to visit
  9. track — to keep track
  10. wax — for sculpting
  11. track — a song
  12. current — electric
  13. current — of water
  14. squash — the sport
  15. field — for sport
  16. squash — to crush
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. pop — soda
  20. pop — music
  21. current — happening now
  22. wax — to grow
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. field — farmland

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