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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. field — farmland
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. squash — to crush
  5. track — to keep track
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. firm — decided
  9. field — a subject
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. pitch — completely
  13. clip — to cut
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. track — a song
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. firm — a company
  18. squash — the sport
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. sharp — clever
  21. field — for sport
  22. clip — a video
  23. clip — for paper
  24. firm — steady

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