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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 124 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 has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. field — for sport
  3. club — a group
  4. cell — a phone
  5. spring — of water
  6. club — for golf
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. spring — the season
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. field — a subject
  12. club — for dancing
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. dip — to sink
  15. cell — in biology
  16. date — the fruit
  17. field — farmland
  18. track — a path
  19. track — a song
  20. spring — a coil
  21. track — to keep track
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. date — on the calendar

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