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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: track · sharp · pound · saw · field · lie · firm · pitch

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  24. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. firm — steady
  3. track — a song
  4. track — a path
  5. lie — to recline
  6. firm — a company
  7. track — to keep track
  8. field — for sport
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. saw — the tool
  13. pitch — completely
  14. firm — decided
  15. sharp — clever
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. field — a subject
  19. saw — the tool
  20. pound — a weight
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. saw — past of 'see'
  24. lie — an untruth

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