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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. track — a path
  3. field — farmland
  4. track — a song
  5. rash — a series
  6. rule — government
  7. mine — for digging
  8. field — a subject
  9. track — to keep track
  10. foot — a measure
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. capital — a city
  17. capital — money
  18. rash — hasty
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. field — for sport
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. foot — part of the body

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