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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 120 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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  11. Have you found your soul ________________?
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. field — for sport
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. field — farmland
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. mate — a friend
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. lash — an eyelash
  11. mate — a partner
  12. track — a song
  13. trunk — of a car
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. stock — goods
  16. row — to paddle
  17. stock — shares
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. pound — a weight
  21. row — a line
  22. track — to keep track
  23. mate — to breed
  24. field — a subject

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