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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: track · mine · wave · bark · arm · press · band · field

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  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. arm — part of the body
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. mine — for digging
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. press — to push
  7. track — a path
  8. press — newspapers
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. band — a ring
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. bark — to shout
  14. field — farmland
  15. arm — a part of something
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. track — a song
  18. track — to keep track
  19. band — a music group
  20. press — a publisher
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. field — a subject
  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