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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 · cap · mate · track · cell · lie · hand · current

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. cell — a phone
  3. current — happening now
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. cap — a hat
  6. current — electric
  7. field — for sport
  8. field — a subject
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. hand — in cards
  11. current — of water
  12. mate — a partner
  13. hand — help
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. track — a path
  16. cap — a lid
  17. mate — to breed
  18. lie — to recline
  19. field — farmland
  20. cap — of ice
  21. track — to keep track
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. track — a song
  24. cell — in biology

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