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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: nail · tear · face · calf · fine · cold · field · track

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The ________________ went through the wall.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. track — a path
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. cold — an illness
  6. tear — from crying
  7. fine — high quality
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. face — to confront
  10. tear — to rip
  11. field — farmland
  12. fine — all right
  13. tear — from crying
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. field — a subject
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. face — to point toward
  18. cold — not warm
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. face — part of the head
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. field — for sport
  24. track — a song

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