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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 116 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: march · track · stick · ruler · lie · field · lean · degree

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. field — for sport
  3. lean — to bend
  4. field — farmland
  5. track — a path
  6. ruler — a monarch
  7. degree — from a university
  8. track — to keep track
  9. degree — temperature
  10. lie — to recline
  11. field — a subject
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. march — music
  15. march — the month
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. lean — thin
  20. degree — an amount
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. track — a song
  24. ruler — for measuring

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