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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. track — a song
  3. wound — an injury
  4. cue — a signal
  5. wake — a trail
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. field — a subject
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. cue — a hint
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. ruler — a monarch
  12. game — wild animals
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. game — a match
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. wound — an injury
  18. field — farmland
  19. field — for sport
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. cue — for pool
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. track — to keep track
  24. mouse — for a computer

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