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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: lean · mark · kid · track · face · saw · wind · field

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. She's very handy with a ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. face — to confront
  3. kid — child
  4. mark — a grade
  5. saw — the tool
  6. field — for sport
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. lean — thin
  9. track — a song
  10. field — farmland
  11. field — a subject
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. lean — to bend
  14. track — to keep track
  15. saw — the tool
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. kid — to tease
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. face — part of the head
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. wind — moving air
  22. face — to point toward
  23. mark — a trace
  24. wind — moving air

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