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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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 music group
  3. mark — a grade
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. net — after costs
  6. band — a ring
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. track — a song
  10. net — for catching
  11. mark — a trace
  12. wound — an injury
  13. root — of a word
  14. land — to come down
  15. root — the cause
  16. net — in sport
  17. wound — an injury
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. bass — low music
  20. land — ground
  21. track — a path
  22. root — of a plant
  23. land — a country
  24. bass — the fish

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