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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: sharp · straw · ball · spell · field · swing · pitcher · track

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. How do you ________________ your surname?
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. track — a path
  4. sharp — clever
  5. swing — in golf
  6. swing — music
  7. field — farmland
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. ball — a dance
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. field — for sport
  12. ball — a great time
  13. spell — letters
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. field — a subject
  16. spell — a short time
  17. sharp — with an edge
  18. track — a song
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. swing — to play on
  23. spell — magic
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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