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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 120 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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. kick — in football
  3. ground — the earth
  4. track — a path
  5. snap — to click
  6. field — a subject
  7. field — farmland
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. ground — crushed
  10. band — a music group
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. track — a song
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. band — a ring
  18. suit — clothes
  19. suit — in cards
  20. track — to keep track
  21. suit — to fit
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. field — for sport
  24. snap — to snap out of it

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