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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: current · fall · track · pitcher · march · game · date · row

  1. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. current — electric
  2. track — a song
  3. fall — to drop
  4. row — to paddle
  5. date — the fruit
  6. current — happening now
  7. march — music
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. fall — to drop
  10. march — the month
  11. track — a path
  12. game — wild animals
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. fall — the season
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. game — a match
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. row — a line
  20. current — of water
  21. march — the month
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. track — to keep track
  24. game — a kind of play

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