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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. track — to keep track
  3. roll — a cake
  4. field — for sport
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. field — a subject
  7. game — wild animals
  8. track — a song
  9. field — farmland
  10. pound — a weight
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. present — the time now
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. game — a match
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. present — there
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. dip — to sink
  19. stand — to bear
  20. present — a gift
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. roll — a list
  24. game — a kind of play

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