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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. field — for sport
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. track — to keep track
  5. field — farmland
  6. field — a subject
  7. track — a song
  8. mug — a cup
  9. racket — a loud noise
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. kid — to tease
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. mug — to rob
  14. track — a path
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bark — to shout
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. mug — a face
  21. game — wild animals
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. kid — child

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