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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. track — a path
  3. swing — music
  4. band — a ring
  5. roll — a list
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. track — to keep track
  8. band — a music group
  9. file — a tool
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. file — a line of people
  12. swing — in golf
  13. tube — a container
  14. field — for sport
  15. tube — the underground
  16. object — a thing
  17. field — a subject
  18. track — a song
  19. swing — to play on
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. object — to protest
  22. object — an aim
  23. file — a document
  24. field — farmland

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