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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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. mark — to pay attention
  3. track — a path
  4. band — a music group
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. track — a song
  7. band — a ring
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. cue — a signal
  10. field — a subject
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. cue — a hint
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. mark — a trace
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. mark — a grade
  17. cue — for pool
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. field — farmland
  20. track — to keep track
  21. field — for sport
  22. mine — for digging
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. straw — dry grass

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