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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 keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. field — a subject
  4. content — happy
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. track — a path
  11. track — a song
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. sharp — clever
  14. branch — a division
  15. field — for sport
  16. wind — moving air
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. field — farmland
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. content — the amount
  24. mouse — for a computer

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