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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: track · mug · fan · clip · field · arm · row · ground

  1. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. My father caught me by the ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a cup
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. field — farmland
  4. mug — a face
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. ground — crushed
  8. ground — the earth
  9. mug — to rob
  10. clip — a video
  11. track — a song
  12. row — to paddle
  13. field — a subject
  14. clip — for paper
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. field — for sport
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. track — to keep track
  20. ground — a position
  21. row — a line
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. clip — to cut
  24. track — a path

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