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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. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. track — a song
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. stem — to come from
  7. field — farmland
  8. land — to come down
  9. safe — a strongbox
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. stem — of a plant
  12. field — a subject
  13. game — wild animals
  14. dip — to sink
  15. track — to keep track
  16. land — ground
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. game — a match
  19. field — for sport
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. land — a country
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. safe — out of danger
  24. dip — to dunk

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