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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. field — for sport
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. track — to keep track
  5. kick — in football
  6. pop — to visit
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. track — a song
  9. field — a subject
  10. field — farmland
  11. safe — out of danger
  12. saw — the tool
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. mine — for digging
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. pop — music
  19. saw — the tool
  20. pop — soda
  21. cell — in biology
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — belonging to me

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