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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. object — an aim
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. tear — to rip
  6. mark — a trace
  7. object — to protest
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. object — a thing
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. field — a subject
  12. pit — a hole
  13. track — a song
  14. track — a path
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. field — for sport
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. mark — a grade
  19. branch — a division
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. field — farmland
  22. tear — from crying
  23. pit — in a race
  24. tear — from crying

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