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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: swing · rash · content · field · track · suit · kid · land

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. suit — to fit
  3. rash — hasty
  4. land — a country
  5. content — happy
  6. swing — to play on
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. suit — clothes
  9. suit — in cards
  10. content — the amount
  11. track — a song
  12. land — ground
  13. kid — child
  14. swing — music
  15. rash — a series
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. land — to come down
  18. track — a path
  19. field — for sport
  20. swing — in golf
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. field — farmland
  23. kid — to tease
  24. field — a subject

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