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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. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  12. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. branch — a division
  3. stem — a stem cell
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. field — farmland
  6. track — a song
  7. field — a subject
  8. field — for sport
  9. branch — of a bank
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. stem — to come from
  12. fork — a garden tool
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. branch — of a tree
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. clip — for paper
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. fork — in a road
  19. fork — to eat with
  20. clip — to cut
  21. stem — of a plant
  22. clip — a video
  23. track — a path
  24. pound — a weight

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