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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bound · game · field · tear · pitcher · track

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. tear — from crying
  3. field — for sport
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. game — wild animals
  6. bound — tied together
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. tear — to rip
  9. track — a path
  10. field — a subject
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. track — a song
  13. bound — certain
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. bound — obliged
  16. field — farmland
  17. tear — from crying
  18. track — to keep track

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