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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: land · press · root · track · bark · current · field · stock

  1. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. current — electric
  3. land — a country
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. root — of a word
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. track — a path
  8. land — ground
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. bark — to shout
  11. press — a publisher
  12. stock — shares
  13. current — of water
  14. root — of a plant
  15. field — farmland
  16. press — to push
  17. field — for sport
  18. track — a song
  19. track — to keep track
  20. field — a subject
  21. land — to come down
  22. root — the cause
  23. press — newspapers
  24. current — happening now

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