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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. mug — to rob
  3. field — farmland
  4. field — a subject
  5. pop — music
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. pop — to visit
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. bound — obliged
  10. pop — soda
  11. wind — moving air
  12. stock — goods
  13. stock — shares
  14. field — for sport
  15. bound — certain
  16. mug — a face
  17. mug — a cup
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. wind — moving air
  21. track — a path
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. track — to keep track
  24. bound — tied together

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