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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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. That was ________________ to happen.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. field — farmland
  3. field — for sport
  4. track — a song
  5. band — a music group
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. track — to keep track
  9. bound — obliged
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. track — a path
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bound — certain
  15. cold — not warm
  16. field — a subject
  17. plane — a tool
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. band — a ring
  20. lash — a whip stroke
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. bound — tied together

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