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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: mine · calf · season · bound · band · bowl · track · capital

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Did you ________________ the meat?
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. band — a music group
  3. track — a path
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. capital — money
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. mine — for digging
  8. track — to keep track
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. season — of the year
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. capital — a city
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. track — a song
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. bound — certain
  19. bound — tied together
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. bound — obliged
  22. season — to add flavour
  23. season — in sport
  24. bowl — to roll

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