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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 120 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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. wound — an injury
  3. field — a subject
  4. cap — of ice
  5. track — a path
  6. clip — a video
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. board — to get on
  9. track — a song
  10. cap — a lid
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. board — a committee
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. wound — an injury
  15. fork — in a road
  16. cap — a hat
  17. clip — to cut
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. field — farmland
  20. track — to keep track
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. clip — for paper
  24. board — a flat piece

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