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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: field · wound · pass · rule · track · shower · current · bat

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. rule — government
  3. wound — an injury
  4. shower — rain
  5. field — a subject
  6. pass — a permit
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. track — a path
  11. current — happening now
  12. track — a song
  13. track — to keep track
  14. rule — a law
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. bat — the animal
  18. wound — an injury
  19. current — of water
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. current — electric
  22. field — farmland
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. field — 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