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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: band · tear · stem · wound · hand · rule · scale · track

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. band — a music group
  3. track — a path
  4. scale — in music
  5. wound — an injury
  6. rule — a law
  7. tear — from crying
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. stem — a stem cell
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. stem — to come from
  15. band — a ring
  16. scale — size or range
  17. tear — to rip
  18. tear — from crying
  19. track — a song
  20. hand — help
  21. wound — an injury
  22. rule — government
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. hand — in cards

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