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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. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. track — a path
  3. cold — not warm
  4. track — to keep track
  5. can — a tin
  6. pitch — completely
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. field — for sport
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. field — a subject
  13. can — a tin
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. chip — to eat
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. vault — a safe
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. cold — an illness
  21. field — farmland
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. track — a song
  24. chip — for betting

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