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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 girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. field — a subject
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. last — to go on
  5. land — a country
  6. row — to paddle
  7. track — a path
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. last — final
  10. track — a song
  11. land — to come down
  12. kid — child
  13. track — to keep track
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. last — finally
  16. field — for sport
  17. field — farmland
  18. land — ground
  19. kid — to tease
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. plane — a tool
  24. plane — an aircraft

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