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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: band · land · track · stock · lean · field · date · mug

  1. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Where did you ________________ them?
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. date — the fruit
  3. stock — shares
  4. lean — thin
  5. mug — a face
  6. band — a ring
  7. land — a country
  8. stock — goods
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. field — for sport
  11. mug — to rob
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. track — a path
  14. mug — a cup
  15. field — a subject
  16. field — farmland
  17. band — a music group
  18. land — to come down
  19. track — a song
  20. date — on the calendar
  21. track — to keep track
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. land — ground

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