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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: hand · pitcher · race · stick · track · object · leaves · field

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. object — to protest
  3. field — for sport
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. leaves — of a tree
  6. field — a subject
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. hand — in cards
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. leaves — to go away
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. race — the arms race
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. track — a path
  15. hand — help
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. object — an aim
  18. object — a thing
  19. track — a song
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. race — a contest
  22. race — humankind
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. track — to keep track

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