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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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. chest — of your body
  3. degree — an amount
  4. track — to keep track
  5. press — newspapers
  6. track — a song
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. track — a path
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. branch — a division
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. field — a subject
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. field — farmland
  18. chest — a box
  19. fork — in a road
  20. press — to push
  21. press — a publisher
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. degree — from a university
  24. degree — temperature

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