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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
468
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 · degree · trunk · game · field · can · squash · face

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. field — farmland
  3. game — wild animals
  4. track — to keep track
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. face — part of the head
  7. degree — from a university
  8. track — a song
  9. degree — an amount
  10. can — to be able to
  11. field — for sport
  12. track — a path
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. degree — temperature
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. face — to confront
  17. face — to point toward
  18. can — a tin
  19. game — a match
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. field — a subject
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. squash — to crush
  24. can — a tin

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