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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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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: hand · mine · cap · track · content · firm · field · key

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. firm — steady
  3. firm — a company
  4. key — for a lock
  5. key — in music
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. hand — help
  8. track — to keep track
  9. firm — decided
  10. field — farmland
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. content — the amount
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. key — the most important part
  15. cap — of ice
  16. track — a path
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. mine — for digging
  19. content — happy
  20. hand — in cards
  21. field — for sport
  22. cap — a hat
  23. field — a subject
  24. cap — a lid

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