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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: craft · mine · track · scale · season · root · wake · band

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  18. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. craft — a skill
  5. craft — a handicraft
  6. track — a path
  7. root — the cause
  8. band — a ring
  9. band — a music group
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. root — of a word
  12. season — of the year
  13. craft — boats
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. scale — in music
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. season — in sport
  18. root — of a plant
  19. wake — a trail
  20. scale — size or range
  21. track — to keep track
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. track — a song
  24. mine — for digging

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