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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: track · kick · temple · row · rash · field · spring · pitcher

  1. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  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. kick — with a leg
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. spring — of water
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. track — to keep track
  6. field — farmland
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. rash — a series
  10. rash — hasty
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. field — for sport
  13. row — to paddle
  14. field — a subject
  15. kick — in football
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. spring — a coil
  19. track — a song
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. spring — the season
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. row — a line
  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