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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 lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  19. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. track — a path
  3. staff — a stick
  4. field — farmland
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. prune — to trim
  7. chest — of your body
  8. track — to keep track
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. chest — of your body
  11. snap — to click
  12. staff — employees
  13. kick — in football
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. lie — to recline
  16. prune — to trim
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. staff — employees
  19. kick — with a leg
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. field — for sport
  22. field — a subject
  23. track — a song
  24. prune — the fruit

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