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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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. ball — a great time
  3. wound — an injury
  4. ball — a dance
  5. wake — a trail
  6. track — to keep track
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. field — for sport
  10. root — of a plant
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. object — an aim
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. root — the cause
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. root — of a word
  17. field — farmland
  18. track — a song
  19. pitch — completely
  20. wound — an injury
  21. field — a subject
  22. track — a path
  23. object — a thing
  24. wake — before a funeral

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