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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. field — for sport
  3. club — a group
  4. club — for dancing
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. track — a path
  7. mug — a cup
  8. mug — to rob
  9. track — a song
  10. mug — a face
  11. capital — money
  12. degree — from a university
  13. degree — an amount
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. degree — temperature
  16. saw — the tool
  17. field — farmland
  18. club — for golf
  19. field — a subject
  20. wound — an injury
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. wound — an injury
  23. saw — the tool
  24. capital — a city

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