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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: ball · wake · track · game · jam · cap · fork · band

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  5. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. track — to keep track
  3. cap — of ice
  4. jam — to spread on bread
  5. cap — a hat
  6. track — a song
  7. band — a music group
  8. track — a path
  9. game — wild animals
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. band — a ring
  13. game — a match
  14. cap — a lid
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. jam — in traffic
  18. ball — a great time
  19. ball — a dance
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. fork — in a road
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. wake — a trail
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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