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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. pop — soda
  3. pop — music
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. net — for catching
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. net — in sport
  9. track — to keep track
  10. track — a song
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. pop — to visit
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. plane — a tool
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — for sport
  17. wake — a trail
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. track — a path
  21. row — a line
  22. row — to paddle
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. net — after costs

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