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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. field — farmland
  4. race — the arms race
  5. current — of water
  6. key — the most important part
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. race — humankind
  9. court — of law
  10. key — for a lock
  11. key — in music
  12. field — a subject
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. current — electric
  15. court — of a king
  16. current — happening now
  17. field — for sport
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. track — a path
  20. race — a contest
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. track — to keep track
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. court — for sport

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