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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. track — to keep track
  3. field — for sport
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. face — to confront
  8. wave — a sudden rise
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. march — the month
  11. face — part of the head
  12. capital — money
  13. wave — with your hand
  14. field — a subject
  15. march — music
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — the tool
  18. field — farmland
  19. face — to point toward
  20. march — the month
  21. club — a group
  22. club — for golf
  23. track — a song
  24. track — a path

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