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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 ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. track — to keep track
  3. rush — hurry
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. field — farmland
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. ground — crushed
  8. trunk — of a car
  9. field — for sport
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. field — a subject
  12. ground — a position
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. track — a song
  17. track — a path
  18. pitch — completely
  19. wound — an injury
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. wound — an injury
  23. wake — to stop sleeping
  24. wake — a trail

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