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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 116 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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. track — to keep track
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. content — happy
  6. field — a subject
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — for sport
  9. perch — the fish
  10. track — a song
  11. track — a path
  12. rest — what's left
  13. rest — a break
  14. content — the amount
  15. race — humankind
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. race — the arms race
  19. race — a contest
  20. club — a group
  21. rest — what's left
  22. snap — to click
  23. club — for golf
  24. perch — for a bird

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