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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. row — to paddle
  2. field — farmland
  3. club — for dancing
  4. track — to keep track
  5. saw — the tool
  6. track — a path
  7. ground — crushed
  8. field — a subject
  9. ground — the earth
  10. club — for golf
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. bat — the animal
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. saw — the tool
  16. field — for sport
  17. track — a song
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. club — a group
  20. ground — a position
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. row — a line

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