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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: cell · hand · field · vault · pound · band · track · drill

  1. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. field — a subject
  3. hand — in cards
  4. cell — in biology
  5. hand — help
  6. field — for sport
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. band — a ring
  9. band — a music group
  10. pound — a weight
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. field — farmland
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. drill — army training
  15. track — to keep track
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. vault — a safe
  19. cell — a phone
  20. track — a path
  21. track — a song
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. drill — a practice
  24. pound — to hit hard

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