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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 116 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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  12. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. bear — the animal
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. field — for sport
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. shower — to wash
  9. field — a subject
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. shower — rain
  12. bear — the animal
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. pitch — completely
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. track — to keep track
  19. bark — of a tree
  20. field — farmland
  21. track — a song
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. bark — to shout

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