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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. This piece is in a major ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — in music
  2. field — for sport
  3. perch — the fish
  4. ground — the earth
  5. ground — a position
  6. track — a song
  7. clip — a video
  8. field — a subject
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. ground — crushed
  11. club — a group
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. key — for a lock
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. track — to keep track
  16. key — the most important part
  17. clip — to cut
  18. club — for dancing
  19. mine — for digging
  20. clip — for paper
  21. track — a path
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. club — for golf
  24. field — farmland

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