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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. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. track — to keep track
  5. track — a path
  6. field — a subject
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. race — the arms race
  9. field — farmland
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. can — a tin
  12. can — a tin
  13. track — a song
  14. wind — moving air
  15. date — the fruit
  16. race — humankind
  17. field — for sport
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. can — to be able to
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. race — a contest
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. wind — moving air

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