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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. field — a subject
  4. plane — a tool
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. track — a song
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. track — a path
  9. band — a ring
  10. field — farmland
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. race — a contest
  13. band — a music group
  14. field — for sport
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. race — the arms race
  18. race — humankind

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