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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. hand — in cards
  3. lie — an untruth
  4. track — to keep track
  5. file — a line of people
  6. track — a song
  7. craft — a skill
  8. lie — to recline
  9. file — a document
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. rest — a break
  12. rest — what's left
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. field — for sport
  15. craft — boats
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. perch — the fish
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. file — a tool
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. rest — what's left
  22. hand — help
  23. field — farmland
  24. field — a subject

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