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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. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. bat — the animal
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. land — ground
  7. field — for sport
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. track — to keep track
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. track — a song
  15. land — a country
  16. field — a subject
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. field — farmland
  20. firm — steady
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. land — to come down
  23. firm — decided
  24. firm — a company

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