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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  15. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. track — a song
  6. rest — a break
  7. rash — a series
  8. track — a path
  9. wake — a trail
  10. track — to keep track
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. field — a subject
  13. bat — the animal
  14. wave — of the sea
  15. wave — a sudden rise
  16. capital — a city
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. rest — what's left
  19. field — farmland
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. rest — what's left
  22. capital — money
  23. field — for sport
  24. wake — before a funeral

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