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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 · present · suit · snap · content · wake · cell · field

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. wake — before a funeral
  3. suit — to fit
  4. cell — a phone
  5. track — a song
  6. present — the time now
  7. field — for sport
  8. suit — clothes
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. suit — in cards
  11. content — happy
  12. field — farmland
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. present — a gift
  15. cell — in biology
  16. field — a subject
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. content — the amount
  20. snap — to click
  21. track — a path
  22. wake — a trail
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. present — there

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