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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. leaves — of a tree
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. field — a subject
  8. kid — to tease
  9. field — farmland
  10. track — a path
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. track — to keep track
  13. bass — low music
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. kid — child
  16. game — wild animals
  17. rash — a series
  18. mark — a grade
  19. rash — hasty
  20. game — a match
  21. field — for sport
  22. mark — a trace
  23. bass — the fish
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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