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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 120 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: kid · pitcher · track · field · leaves · deal · shower · land

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. kid — to tease
  4. deal — a big deal
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. field — for sport
  7. track — to keep track
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. deal — to handle
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. field — farmland
  14. track — a path
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. field — a subject
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. land — to come down
  19. shower — rain
  20. land — ground
  21. land — a country
  22. kid — child
  23. shower — to wash
  24. pitcher — a jug

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