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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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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: row · track · spell · current · stick · rest · field · rule

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. spell — magic
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. current — happening now
  5. spell — letters
  6. row — a line
  7. track — to keep track
  8. spell — a short time
  9. current — electric
  10. row — to paddle
  11. field — farmland
  12. rest — what's left
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. field — for sport
  16. rest — a break
  17. track — a path
  18. rule — government
  19. track — a song
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. field — a subject
  23. current — of water
  24. rest — what's left

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