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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. Where did you ________________ them?
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. This piece is in a major ________________.
  12. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  24. When are we going to ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. track — a path
  3. track — a song
  4. land — ground
  5. band — a ring
  6. rush — to hurry
  7. rush — hurry
  8. mug — to rob
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. field — farmland
  11. key — in music
  12. mug — a face
  13. field — for sport
  14. key — for a lock
  15. mug — a cup
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. track — to keep track
  18. band — a music group
  19. mine — for digging
  20. field — a subject
  21. land — a country
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. key — the most important part
  24. land — to come down

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