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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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. pop — music
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. leaves — lets stay
  6. file — a tool
  7. track — a path
  8. field — for sport
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. pop — soda
  11. file — a document
  12. track — to keep track
  13. march — music
  14. march — the month
  15. field — farmland
  16. trunk — of an elephant
  17. march — the month
  18. track — a song
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. file — a line of people
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. field — a subject
  23. trunk — of a tree
  24. pop — to visit

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