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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 120 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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. That was ________________ to happen.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. field — for sport
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. field — farmland
  5. track — a path
  6. lean — thin
  7. pit — a hole
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. file — a document
  10. bound — tied together
  11. pit — in a race
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. bound — obliged
  14. track — a song
  15. lean — to bend
  16. bound — certain
  17. file — a line of people
  18. wind — moving air
  19. field — a subject
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. file — a tool
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wax — to grow
  24. lean — to rest against

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