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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. field — for sport
  3. field — farmland
  4. bat — the animal
  5. can — a tin
  6. land — a country
  7. fall — the season
  8. fall — to drop
  9. field — a subject
  10. can — to be able to
  11. track — a path
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. land — to come down
  15. can — a tin
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. fall — to drop
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. lash — to lash out
  21. track — a song
  22. land — ground
  23. bark — to shout
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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