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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Have you found your soul ________________?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. She's very handy with a ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. key — in music
  3. net — in sport
  4. field — farmland
  5. mate — a partner
  6. mate — to breed
  7. net — for catching
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. net — after costs
  10. leaves — of a tree
  11. field — for sport
  12. track — to keep track
  13. track — a song
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. saw — the tool
  16. key — the most important part
  17. clip — a video
  18. mate — a friend
  19. field — a subject
  20. clip — for paper
  21. clip — to cut
  22. key — for a lock
  23. saw — the tool
  24. leaves — to go away

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