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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. track — to keep track
  3. can — a tin
  4. spell — letters
  5. bulb — for light
  6. bulb — for light
  7. mark — a trace
  8. track — a path
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. field — a subject
  11. drill — army training
  12. lie — an untruth
  13. spell — magic
  14. track — a song
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. can — a tin
  17. field — farmland
  18. mark — a grade
  19. lie — to recline
  20. drill — the tool
  21. spell — a short time
  22. can — to be able to
  23. field — for sport
  24. drill — a practice

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