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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  4. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. mine — for digging
  3. straw — dry grass
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. field — a subject
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. track — to keep track
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. stand — to bear
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. cell — a phone
  15. field — farmland
  16. fall — to drop
  17. ruler — a monarch
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. cell — in biology
  20. fall — the season
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. fall — to drop
  23. field — for sport
  24. track — a song

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