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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: club · field · wound · last · track · bay · charge · chest

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  3. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The tickets are free of ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. wound — an injury
  3. charge — in control
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. last — to go on
  6. track — a path
  7. track — a song
  8. chest — of your body
  9. last — final
  10. track — to keep track
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. field — a subject
  14. club — for dancing
  15. charge — electricity
  16. field — for sport
  17. charge — a price
  18. chest — a box
  19. club — for golf
  20. last — finally
  21. club — a group
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. wound — an injury
  24. field — farmland

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