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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: staff · band · cold · fork · ground · track · fan · rock

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  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. cold — not warm
  2. staff — employees
  3. ground — crushed
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. cold — an illness
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. band — a ring
  8. fork — in a road
  9. fork — to eat with
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. track — a song
  12. track — a path
  13. ground — a position
  14. staff — a stick
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. rock — music
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. ground — the earth
  20. rock — a stone
  21. staff — employees
  22. track — to keep track
  23. band — a rubber band
  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