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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · bear · cold · mate · chair · lean · field · track

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Have you found your soul ________________?
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. cold — an illness
  3. mate — a friend
  4. track — to keep track
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bear — the animal
  8. field — farmland
  9. track — a song
  10. mate — to breed
  11. lean — to bend
  12. lean — thin
  13. current — happening now
  14. bear — the animal
  15. current — of water
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. chair — a leader
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. field — for sport
  22. mate — a partner
  23. field — a subject
  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