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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's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  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. sharp — clever
  2. dip — to sink
  3. saw — the tool
  4. club — a group
  5. field — farmland
  6. field — a subject
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. track — a song
  9. club — for dancing
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. track — to keep track
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. field — for sport
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. saw — the tool
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. club — for golf
  19. shower — to wash
  20. chip — to eat
  21. shower — rain
  22. chip — for betting
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  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