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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: hand · field · kick · racket · land · ball · mark · track

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. When are we going to ________________?
  3. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. land — to come down
  3. mark — a trace
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. field — farmland
  7. mark — a grade
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. field — a subject
  10. track — a song
  11. track — a path
  12. land — a country
  13. hand — in cards
  14. land — ground
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. kick — in football
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. ball — a dance
  20. field — for sport
  21. ball — a great time
  22. mark — to pay attention
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. track — to keep track

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