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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. fall — to drop
  3. track — to keep track
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. drill — a practice
  6. track — a song
  7. drill — the tool
  8. drill — army training
  9. plane — in geometry
  10. fall — the season
  11. fall — to drop
  12. field — for sport
  13. plane — a tool
  14. pitch — completely
  15. track — a path
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. field — farmland

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