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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 120 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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: band · last · track · cell · pound · kick

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  7. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. track — a song
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. last — finally
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. pound — to hit hard
  7. kick — a thrill
  8. band — a ring
  9. kick — in football
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cell — in biology
  12. pound — a weight
  13. last — final
  14. cell — a phone
  15. band — a music group
  16. track — a path
  17. track — to keep track
  18. last — to go on

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