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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. wound — an injury
  3. pop — to visit
  4. pop — music
  5. deal — to handle
  6. row — a line
  7. wound — an injury
  8. track — a song
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. field — a subject
  12. field — farmland
  13. season — of the year
  14. pop — soda
  15. cap — a lid
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. field — for sport
  18. row — to paddle
  19. season — in sport
  20. cap — of ice
  21. cap — a hat
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. track — to keep track
  24. deal — a big deal

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