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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: pop · track · field · fork · clip · leaves · season · current

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. season — of the year
  3. current — happening now
  4. pop — to visit
  5. current — electric
  6. track — to keep track
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. clip — to cut
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. season — in sport
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. field — for sport
  15. clip — a video
  16. field — a subject
  17. leaves — of a tree
  18. pop — soda
  19. track — a path
  20. clip — for paper
  21. current — of water
  22. field — farmland
  23. fork — in a road
  24. track — a song

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