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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: field · firm · shower · kid · band · track · mouse · drill

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. field — a subject
  3. field — for sport
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. firm — a company
  6. drill — a practice
  7. track — a song
  8. band — a ring
  9. track — a path
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. firm — steady
  14. kid — child
  15. track — to keep track
  16. field — farmland
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. shower — rain
  19. kid — to tease
  20. drill — the tool
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. band — a music group
  23. firm — decided
  24. drill — army training

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