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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  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. track — a song
  2. leaves — to go away
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. scale — size or range
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. field — a subject
  9. lie — to recline
  10. field — for sport
  11. wound — an injury
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. field — farmland
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. pitch — completely
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. wound — an injury
  19. scale — in music
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. track — to keep track
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. track — a path
  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