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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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. last — to go on
  3. field — farmland
  4. last — final
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. track — to keep track
  7. pop — to visit
  8. last — finally
  9. clip — a video
  10. field — for sport
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. stand — to bear
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. clip — to cut
  15. pass — a permit
  16. pop — music
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. pop — soda
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. clip — for paper
  23. track — a song
  24. field — a subject

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