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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. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I'll be taking the ________________.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. track — to keep track
  3. track — a song
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. wind — moving air
  12. track — a path
  13. field — for sport
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. field — farmland
  16. wind — moving air
  17. pass — a permit
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. field — a subject
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. tube — the underground
  24. tube — a container

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