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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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. ground — the earth
  3. field — farmland
  4. can — a tin
  5. can — to be able to
  6. trunk — of a car
  7. ground — a position
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. chest — of your body
  10. field — a subject
  11. chest — of your body
  12. field — for sport
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. track — to keep track
  15. kid — child
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. track — a song
  18. can — a tin
  19. chest — a box
  20. kid — to tease
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. ground — crushed
  23. scale — in music
  24. scale — size or range

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