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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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  7. The tickets are free of ________________.
  8. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. field — farmland
  3. spring — a coil
  4. charge — in control
  5. wake — a trail
  6. track — to keep track
  7. charge — a price
  8. pass — to spend time
  9. spring — of water
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. field — a subject
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. key — in music
  14. spring — the season
  15. cold — an illness
  16. pass — a permit
  17. key — the most important part
  18. track — a song
  19. field — for sport
  20. key — for a lock
  21. cold — not warm
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. charge — electricity

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