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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: hide · band · track · cell · wound · march · staff · can

  1. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. band — a music group
  3. march — music
  4. band — a ring
  5. wound — an injury
  6. staff — employees
  7. staff — employees
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. can — a tin
  10. wound — an injury
  11. cell — a phone
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. track — to keep track
  14. cell — in biology
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. march — the month
  17. can — a tin
  18. march — the month
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. can — to be able to
  21. staff — a stick
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. track — a song

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