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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: track · field · current · calf · fork · last · bulb · clip

  1. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — a garden tool
  2. track — a song
  3. current — of water
  4. clip — to cut
  5. clip — a video
  6. field — farmland
  7. last — final
  8. field — a subject
  9. track — a path
  10. bulb — for light
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. bulb — for light
  13. last — finally
  14. fork — in a road
  15. last — to go on
  16. field — for sport
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. clip — for paper
  20. track — to keep track
  21. bulb — of a plant
  22. current — happening now
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. current — electric

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