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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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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: rock · wound · field · date · track · patient · pop · straw

  1. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. track — a path
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. rock — music
  6. pop — soda
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. pop — to visit
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — farmland
  12. rock — to move gently
  13. pop — music
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. track — to keep track
  17. rock — a stone
  18. field — a subject
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. track — a song
  21. wound — an injury
  22. date — the fruit
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. date — on the calendar

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