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

Word bank: field · bat · land · pit · jam · track · firm · last

  1. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. firm — a company
  3. track — a song
  4. field — farmland
  5. track — to keep track
  6. bat — the animal
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. land — a country
  9. track — a path
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. land — to come down
  13. firm — steady
  14. firm — decided
  15. jam — in traffic
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. field — for sport
  18. last — to go on
  19. pit — in a race
  20. field — a subject
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. pit — a hole
  23. land — ground
  24. last — final

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