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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 116 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 tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. charge — a price
  3. charge — electricity
  4. track — a song
  5. track — to keep track
  6. scale — in music
  7. scale — size or range
  8. kid — child
  9. rest — a break
  10. rest — what's left
  11. charge — in control
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. ground — crushed
  14. field — farmland
  15. ground — the earth
  16. rest — what's left
  17. race — the arms race
  18. ground — a position
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. field — a subject
  21. field — for sport
  22. kid — to tease
  23. race — a contest
  24. race — humankind

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