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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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. rush — hurry
  4. sharp — clever
  5. bulb — for light
  6. chest — of your body
  7. field — for sport
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. track — to keep track
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. field — a subject
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. track — a path
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. craft — boats
  18. bark — to shout
  19. field — farmland
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. craft — a skill
  23. bulb — for light
  24. chest — a box

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