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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: lean · wound · hand · club · track · field · coach · mark

  1. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — a grade
  2. wound — an injury
  3. hand — in cards
  4. lean — thin
  5. club — for dancing
  6. field — a subject
  7. track — a path
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. mark — to pay attention
  10. club — for golf
  11. club — a group
  12. wound — an injury
  13. lean — to bend
  14. field — farmland
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. mark — a trace
  18. hand — help
  19. track — a song
  20. field — for sport
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. 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