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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. leaves — lets stay
  3. wound — an injury
  4. track — a path
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. field — for sport
  7. track — to keep track
  8. court — of a king
  9. wound — an injury
  10. track — a song
  11. dip — to sink
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. lean — thin
  15. field — a subject
  16. present — there
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. present — the time now
  20. field — farmland
  21. lean — to bend
  22. court — of law
  23. dip — a sauce
  24. court — for sport

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