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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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Word bank
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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: fine · band · mug · bark · track · wind · content · land

  1. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — of a tree
  2. mug — a face
  3. land — to come down
  4. land — ground
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. content — happy
  7. fine — all right
  8. wind — moving air
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. wind — moving air
  13. mug — a cup
  14. band — a music group
  15. fine — high quality
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. mug — to rob
  18. band — a ring
  19. track — to keep track
  20. track — a path
  21. bark — to shout
  22. track — a song
  23. content — the amount
  24. land — a country

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