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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: pit · field · pound · shower · track · racket · leaves · rule

  1. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Boris sat near the fire ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — a law
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. track — a song
  4. pit — in a race
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. field — for sport
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. leaves — of a tree
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. track — to keep track
  11. shower — to wash
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. field — farmland
  14. rule — to rule out
  15. pound — a weight
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. track — a path
  18. rule — government
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. leaves — lets stay
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. shower — rain
  23. field — a subject
  24. pit — a hole

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