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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 120 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: field · ruler · track · bay · pop · cold · can · charge

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. The tickets are free of ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  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. pop — music
  2. can — to be able to
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. charge — electricity
  5. track — a song
  6. can — a tin
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. field — for sport
  9. track — to keep track
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. field — farmland
  13. field — a subject
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — an illness
  16. can — a tin
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. pop — soda
  19. pop — to visit
  20. charge — in control
  21. charge — a price
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. bay — a part of the sea
  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