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

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. band — a ring
  4. kid — child
  5. track — a song
  6. field — farmland
  7. track — to keep track
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. field — a subject
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. bank — for money
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. kid — to tease
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. band — a music group
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bank — for money
  18. track — a path
  19. field — for sport
  20. bat — the animal
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bank — of a river

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