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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. He works in a ________________ mill.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. saw — past of 'see'
  3. degree — an amount
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. degree — temperature
  6. degree — from a university
  7. race — the arms race
  8. race — humankind
  9. race — a contest
  10. field — farmland
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. mine — for digging
  13. field — a subject
  14. saw — the tool
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. saw — the tool
  17. bound — obliged
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. track — a song
  20. bound — certain
  21. field — for sport
  22. bound — tied together
  23. leaves — lets stay
  24. track — a path

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