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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: mine · foot · field · plane · track · wake · bat · bass

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. field — a subject
  3. bass — low music
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. plane — in geometry
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. foot — a measure
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. field — for sport
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. wake — a trail
  15. plane — a tool
  16. bat — the animal
  17. track — a song
  18. track — to keep track
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. mine — for digging
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. bass — the fish
  24. field — farmland

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