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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. track — to keep track
  3. squash — the sport
  4. field — for sport
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. present — there
  9. band — a ring
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. present — a gift
  13. band — a music group
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. prune — to trim
  17. present — the time now
  18. squash — to crush
  19. stem — to come from
  20. field — a subject
  21. track — a song
  22. prune — to trim
  23. stem — of a plant
  24. field — farmland

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