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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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. track — a song
  3. bound — certain
  4. field — for sport
  5. lean — to rest against
  6. bat — the animal
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. bound — tied together
  9. field — a subject
  10. lean — to bend
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. field — farmland
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. lean — thin
  17. bound — obliged
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. track — to keep track
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. snap — to click

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