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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. field — farmland
  4. squash — the sport
  5. squash — to crush
  6. field — for sport
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. track — a song
  10. mine — for digging
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. court — for sport
  13. court — of law
  14. lie — to recline
  15. field — a subject
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. track — to keep track
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. court — of a king
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. squash — the vegetable

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