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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. wake — a trail
  3. bound — obliged
  4. firm — steady
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. spring — a coil
  8. firm — a company
  9. field — a subject
  10. track — to keep track
  11. bound — tied together
  12. spring — the season
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. spring — of water
  15. mine — for digging
  16. field — farmland
  17. staff — employees
  18. track — a path
  19. firm — decided
  20. staff — a stick
  21. track — a song
  22. bound — certain
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. staff — employees

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