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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: current · straw · fork · stand · hand · field · mine · track

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — for sport
  5. track — a song
  6. track — a path
  7. stand — to bear
  8. hand — help
  9. current — happening now
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. current — of water
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. current — electric
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. mine — for digging
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. stand — on your feet
  18. field — a subject
  19. hand — in cards
  20. track — to keep track
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. fork — in a road
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. straw — a straw man

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