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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 120 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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  20. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. club — for golf
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. track — a song
  7. wake — a trail
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. field — a subject
  10. field — for sport
  11. club — for dancing
  12. track — to keep track
  13. pound — a weight
  14. club — a group
  15. bore — to tire
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. wake — to stop sleeping
  20. arm — a part of something
  21. field — farmland
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. bore — to drill
  24. straw — dry grass

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