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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  17. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. field — for sport
  4. track — to keep track
  5. swing — music
  6. field — a subject
  7. race — humankind
  8. swing — in golf
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. field — farmland
  11. bore — to drill
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. track — a song
  14. race — the arms race
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. wave — with your hand
  17. stem — to come from
  18. swing — to play on
  19. bore — to tire
  20. bore — gave birth
  21. perch — the fish
  22. race — a contest
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. perch — for a bird

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