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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: stick · field · lean · track · degree · wake · race · band

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  18. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. band — a music group
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. race — a contest
  5. degree — temperature
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. degree — from a university
  8. lean — thin
  9. band — a ring
  10. track — a path
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. field — for sport
  13. degree — an amount
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. field — a subject
  16. race — humankind
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. race — the arms race
  19. track — to keep track
  20. lean — to bend
  21. wake — a trail
  22. track — a song
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. field — farmland

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