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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. kid — child
  3. track — a path
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. degree — an amount
  6. trunk — of an elephant
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. track — a song
  9. kid — to tease
  10. field — farmland
  11. foot — a measure
  12. rule — government
  13. degree — from a university
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. track — to keep track
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. rule — a law
  23. field — a subject
  24. degree — temperature

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