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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 120 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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. race — humankind
  3. court — of law
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. wake — a trail
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. kid — child
  8. track — a song
  9. field — a subject
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. kid — to tease
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. race — the arms race
  14. court — for sport
  15. court — of a king
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. field — for sport
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. track — to keep track
  23. field — farmland
  24. race — a contest

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