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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. spell — letters
  3. tear — to rip
  4. ground — a position
  5. ground — crushed
  6. ground — the earth
  7. key — the most important part
  8. field — a subject
  9. key — for a lock
  10. spell — a short time
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. tear — from crying
  13. field — for sport
  14. tear — from crying
  15. track — a song
  16. pass — a permit
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. key — in music
  19. track — a path
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. spell — magic
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. pitch — completely
  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