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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 116 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: staff · swing · present · lash · drill · track · field · land

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. staff — employees
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. field — a subject
  5. swing — to play on
  6. land — to come down
  7. land — a country
  8. present — the time now
  9. track — to keep track
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. swing — in golf
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. drill — army training
  14. present — there
  15. field — for sport
  16. staff — a stick
  17. present — a gift
  18. drill — the tool
  19. track — a song
  20. staff — employees
  21. drill — a practice
  22. swing — music
  23. land — ground
  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