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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 · court · bound · cold · chip · press · sharp · track

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. field — a subject
  3. track — a song
  4. field — farmland
  5. sharp — clever
  6. cold — not warm
  7. press — to push
  8. chip — to eat
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. bound — certain
  11. press — newspapers
  12. court — of a king
  13. field — for sport
  14. bound — obliged
  15. track — a path
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. court — for sport
  18. press — a publisher
  19. cold — an illness
  20. court — of law
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. chip — for betting
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. bound — tied together

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