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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: swing · band · fine · pit · wind · court · track · field

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. track — to keep track
  3. court — of a king
  4. track — a song
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. band — a music group
  8. fine — all right
  9. wind — moving air
  10. fine — high quality
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. swing — in golf
  13. swing — to play on
  14. track — a path
  15. wind — moving air
  16. field — a subject
  17. court — of law
  18. pit — in a race
  19. pit — a hole
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. swing — music
  22. field — farmland
  23. court — for sport
  24. field — for sport

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