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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: nail · bank · stand · date · track · clip · wake · band

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. clip — for paper
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. bank — for money
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. clip — a video
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. date — the fruit
  12. track — a song
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. track — to keep track
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. band — a ring
  17. stand — to bear
  18. bank — of a river
  19. clip — to cut
  20. band — a music group
  21. track — a path
  22. wake — a trail
  23. bank — for money
  24. nail — for a hammer

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