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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. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. land — a country
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. track — a song
  5. fine — high quality
  6. field — for sport
  7. land — to come down
  8. last — final
  9. wound — an injury
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. track — to keep track
  12. fine — all right
  13. land — ground
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — a subject
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. last — finally
  21. branch — a division
  22. last — to go on
  23. track — a path
  24. wound — an injury

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