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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 120 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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. track — a path
  3. spell — a short time
  4. track — to keep track
  5. track — a song
  6. spell — magic
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. field — for sport
  9. net — for catching
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. mark — a trace
  12. mark — a grade
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. fine — all right
  15. fine — high quality
  16. cell — in biology
  17. field — a subject
  18. cell — a phone
  19. net — in sport
  20. scale — size or range
  21. field — farmland
  22. net — after costs
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. scale — in music

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