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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 hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a trace
  2. cold — not warm
  3. field — farmland
  4. track — to keep track
  5. bore — to drill
  6. court — of a king
  7. court — for sport
  8. lash — an eyelash
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. bore — to tire
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. cold — an illness
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. rock — music
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. rock — a stone
  18. field — for sport
  19. mark — a grade
  20. court — of law
  21. field — a subject
  22. track — a path
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. track — a song

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