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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 ________________ took off on time.
  2. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. jam — a tight spot
  3. field — farmland
  4. jam — in traffic
  5. file — a tool
  6. track — a path
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. hand — in cards
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. track — a song
  11. field — a subject
  12. plane — a tool
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. hand — help
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. track — to keep track
  17. mouse — for a computer
  18. file — a document
  19. jam — to spread on bread
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. field — for sport
  22. mine — for digging
  23. file — a line of people
  24. mine — belonging to me

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