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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. The ________________ took off on time.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. plane — a tool
  4. track — a song
  5. field — a subject
  6. rush — hurry
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. present — there
  10. chair — a leader
  11. snap — to click
  12. field — for sport
  13. field — farmland
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. present — a gift
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. branch — a division
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. plane — an aircraft
  23. present — the time now
  24. track — to keep track

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