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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: march · rush · wake · court · lean · field · mate · current

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. march — music
  4. wake — a trail
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. mate — a friend
  7. rush — hurry
  8. court — for sport
  9. court — of a king
  10. march — the month
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. current — of water
  13. current — happening now
  14. court — of law
  15. lean — to bend
  16. lean — thin
  17. field — for sport
  18. field — farmland
  19. field — a subject
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. march — the month
  22. mate — to breed
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  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