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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: bat · spring · track · land · cue · lie · saw · field

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. saw — the tool
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. spring — the season
  6. spring — of water
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. land — to come down
  9. track — to keep track
  10. land — a country
  11. cue — for pool
  12. cue — a hint
  13. lie — to recline
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — a subject
  17. spring — a coil
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. track — a path
  20. bat — the animal
  21. land — ground
  22. saw — the tool
  23. field — for sport
  24. cue — a signal

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