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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. mark — a trace
  3. march — the month
  4. chip — to eat
  5. field — farmland
  6. mark — a grade
  7. march — the month
  8. field — a subject
  9. prune — to trim
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. wind — moving air
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. kick — in football
  16. chip — for betting
  17. track — to keep track
  18. track — a path
  19. field — for sport
  20. wind — moving air
  21. march — music
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. prune — to trim

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