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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 · stock · snap · last · mate · ground · field · date

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Have you settled on a ________________?
  6. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. mate — a partner
  3. mate — to breed
  4. ground — a position
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. current — happening now
  7. snap — to click
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. last — to go on
  10. current — electric
  11. current — of water
  12. ground — crushed
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. ground — the earth
  15. field — for sport
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. last — finally
  18. stock — goods
  19. stock — shares
  20. date — the fruit
  21. last — final
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. field — a subject
  24. field — farmland

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