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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: rest · hide · ground · field · straw · track · club · pound

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. track — a song
  4. field — a subject
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. ground — the earth
  7. pound — to hit hard
  8. ground — crushed
  9. track — to keep track
  10. rest — what's left
  11. track — a path
  12. field — for sport
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. club — for golf
  16. club — a group
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. field — farmland
  19. ground — a position
  20. rest — a break
  21. pound — a weight
  22. rest — what's left
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. hide — to keep secret

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