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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. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. She's very handy with a ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. track — a song
  3. bass — the fish
  4. saw — the tool
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. field — for sport
  7. last — final
  8. game — a match
  9. last — to go on
  10. last — finally
  11. saw — the tool
  12. track — a path
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. prune — to trim
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. game — wild animals
  17. bank — for money
  18. field — farmland
  19. field — a subject
  20. bass — low music
  21. prune — to trim
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. bank — of a river
  24. bank — for money

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