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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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. track — a song
  6. bat — the animal
  7. track — to keep track
  8. cell — a phone
  9. track — a path
  10. swing — in golf
  11. deal — a big deal
  12. swing — music
  13. rest — what's left
  14. rest — a break
  15. field — for sport
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. field — a subject
  19. cell — in biology
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. swing — to play on
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. deal — to handle
  24. rest — what's left

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