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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. I've got the luggage in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. sharp — clever
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — for sport
  6. track — a song
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. bear — the animal
  12. swing — in golf
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. track — a path
  16. bear — the animal
  17. swing — music
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. field — a subject
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. wind — moving air
  22. track — to keep track
  23. wind — moving air
  24. trunk — of a car

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