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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. field — for sport
  3. trunk — of a tree
  4. track — to keep track
  5. track — a path
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. field — a subject
  11. track — a song
  12. squash — to crush
  13. net — for catching
  14. net — after costs
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — what's left
  17. field — farmland
  18. net — in sport
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. drill — the tool
  21. rest — a break
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. drill — a practice
  24. drill — army training

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