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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  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 — a song
  2. chest — of your body
  3. track — to keep track
  4. staff — a stick
  5. root — of a word
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. root — the cause
  8. field — a subject
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. chest — of your body
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. root — of a plant
  13. bass — the fish
  14. field — for sport
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. staff — employees
  19. staff — employees
  20. chest — a box
  21. bass — low music
  22. track — a path
  23. fan — to cool the air
  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