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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. lean — thin
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. track — a song
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. kick — in football
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. chair — a leader
  9. field — a subject
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. content — happy
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. lean — to bend
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. prune — to trim
  16. field — farmland
  17. field — for sport
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. content — the amount
  20. track — a path
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. prune — to trim
  24. kick — with a leg

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