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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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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: toast · field · bass · track · lash · court · pit · race

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  15. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  16. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. court — of a king
  3. track — a song
  4. toast — a drink to someone
  5. race — humankind
  6. field — farmland
  7. pit — a fruit stone
  8. track — to keep track
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. court — for sport
  11. race — the arms race
  12. pit — a hole
  13. court — of law
  14. toast — bread
  15. lash — to lash out
  16. lash — an eyelash
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. field — for sport
  19. bass — the fish
  20. pit — in a race
  21. bass — low music
  22. field — a subject
  23. track — a path
  24. toast — the most admired

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