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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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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. field — farmland
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. track — a path
  7. race — a contest
  8. field — for sport
  9. lie — to recline
  10. track — a song
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. race — the arms race
  13. race — humankind
  14. field — a subject
  15. wound — an injury
  16. track — to keep track
  17. rock — a stone
  18. lie — an untruth

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