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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. rule — government
  3. track — a path
  4. field — for sport
  5. track — a song
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. saw — the tool
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. rule — a law
  11. tube — a container
  12. field — farmland
  13. march — the month
  14. field — a subject
  15. saw — the tool
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. bulb — for light
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. march — music
  20. tube — the underground
  21. bulb — for light
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. march — the month

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