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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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 — to keep track
  4. court — of a king
  5. spell — magic
  6. present — the time now
  7. field — farmland
  8. field — for sport
  9. court — for sport
  10. band — a ring
  11. court — of law
  12. bat — the animal
  13. drill — army training
  14. drill — a practice
  15. drill — the tool
  16. spell — letters
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. field — a subject
  20. spell — a short time
  21. present — a gift
  22. track — a song
  23. band — a music group
  24. present — there

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