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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: coach · hide · cell · hand · chest · field · current · track

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  13. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. chest — of your body
  3. track — to keep track
  4. track — a path
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. current — of water
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. hand — help
  9. hand — in cards
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. current — electric
  13. cell — in biology
  14. field — for sport
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. cell — a phone
  17. track — a song
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. current — happening now
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. chest — of your body
  23. field — a subject
  24. chest — a box

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