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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. I've got to change the light ________________.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cold — an illness
  4. scale — size or range
  5. track — a path
  6. bulb — for light
  7. field — for sport
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. bulb — of a plant
  10. field — farmland
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. hand — help
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. track — a song
  15. fork — to eat with
  16. hand — in cards
  17. bulb — for light
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. fork — in a road
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. scale — in music
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. field — a subject

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