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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. track — to keep track
  3. field — a subject
  4. chair — a leader
  5. fine — all right
  6. fall — to drop
  7. game — a match
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. tube — the underground
  12. fall — the season
  13. tube — a container
  14. fine — high quality
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. field — for sport
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. game — wild animals
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. track — a song
  22. fall — to drop
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. track — a path

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