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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 116 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: wind · pop · track · mate · band · bowl · board · stand

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. track — a song
  3. wind — moving air
  4. pop — music
  5. track — a path
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. pop — to visit
  8. board — a committee
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. band — a ring
  12. track — to keep track
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. board — a flat piece
  15. pop — soda
  16. board — to get on
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. stand — to bear
  19. mate — to breed
  20. mate — a friend
  21. mate — a partner
  22. wind — moving air
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. band — a music group

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