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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 116 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: track · rock · drill · swing · bowl · hand · branch · current

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. current — electric
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. branch — a division
  6. rock — music
  7. hand — help
  8. current — of water
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. drill — the tool
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. swing — to play on
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. track — a song
  16. hand — in cards
  17. track — a path
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. current — happening now
  20. swing — music
  21. swing — in golf
  22. drill — a practice
  23. rock — a stone
  24. drill — army training

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