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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 120 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: field · staff · clip · face · bowl · rush · band · track

  1. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. track — a path
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. band — a ring
  5. staff — employees
  6. face — to point toward
  7. field — a subject
  8. face — part of the head
  9. clip — to cut
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. field — farmland
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. track — a song
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. rush — hurry
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. field — for sport
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. track — to keep track
  20. staff — employees
  21. face — to confront
  22. clip — a video
  23. clip — for paper
  24. staff — a stick

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