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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. That must've been a ________________.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. track — a path
  3. field — farmland
  4. track — a song
  5. track — to keep track
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. capital — a city
  9. field — for sport
  10. cue — for pool
  11. capital — money
  12. field — a subject
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. cue — a signal
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. rush — a thrill
  19. present — the time now
  20. present — a gift
  21. cue — a hint
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — moving air
  24. present — there

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