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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. lie — to recline
  4. pit — a hole
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. shower — to wash
  9. field — for sport
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. track — to keep track
  12. capital — a city
  13. field — farmland
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. kick — in football
  16. capital — money
  17. pit — in a race
  18. field — a subject
  19. shower — rain
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. track — a song
  22. kick — with a leg
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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