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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. spring — the season
  3. field — for sport
  4. band — a ring
  5. chip — for betting
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. chip — to eat
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. track — a path
  12. band — a music group
  13. field — farmland
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. spring — of water
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. field — a subject
  21. spring — a coil
  22. track — a song
  23. row — a line
  24. row — to paddle

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