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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. field — farmland
  3. track — to keep track
  4. fork — in a road
  5. temple — side of the head
  6. content — the amount
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. squash — the sport
  9. content — happy
  10. track — a song
  11. club — for dancing
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. field — a subject
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. club — for golf
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. temple — a place of worship
  18. squash — to crush
  19. game — wild animals
  20. club — a group
  21. game — a match
  22. track — a path
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. fork — to eat with

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