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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. field — a subject
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. ball — a great time
  5. tube — the underground
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. last — final
  8. club — a group
  9. track — to keep track
  10. row — to paddle
  11. club — for dancing
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. tube — a container
  14. field — farmland
  15. row — a line
  16. last — finally
  17. field — for sport
  18. kick — in football
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. track — a path
  21. club — for golf
  22. track — a song
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. last — to go on

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