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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: track · fine · mine · branch · roll · band · last · court

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. branch — a division
  3. track — a path
  4. last — to go on
  5. track — to keep track
  6. last — final
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. roll — a cake
  10. track — a song
  11. fine — high quality
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. roll — a list
  14. fine — all right
  15. court — for sport
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. band — a ring
  18. court — of law
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. court — of a king
  21. band — a music group
  22. last — finally
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. fine — a penalty

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