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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. mark — a grade
  3. track — a song
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. field — farmland
  7. tear — to rip
  8. wind — moving air
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. tear — from crying
  11. track — a path
  12. tear — from crying
  13. field — for sport
  14. mark — a trace
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. field — a subject
  18. track — to keep track

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